Preparations for Madonna visit to Israel

Pop singer Madonna will spend next week's Jewish New Year celebrations in Israel, and police said they will mobilize hundreds of officers for her planned visit to the graves of rabbinical sages in the north of the country. Madonna is arriving along with 2,000 other Cabbala students from 22 countries, according to a spokeswoman for the Cabbala Center which has organized the trip. The Israeli newspaper "Maariv" reported that police were concerned about religious extremists who could try to cause disruption to the visit. A police spokesman declined to confirm the report, but said 2,000 officers were being deployed. Madonna has used Hebrew letters and Jewish prayer accessories in recent video clips. However, some ultra-Orthodox rabbis frown upon the celebrity interest in Cabbala. Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri, a leading Cabbalist and revered rabbinical sage, said in an interview with "Maariv" that non-Jews, and women in general, were banned from studying Jewish mysticism.