Next Sunday, Tourism Minister, Gidon Ezra, will present Madonna, at a festive ceremony in her honor at the David Intercontinental Hotel, with a personal gift: an oil lamp and coin from the Byzantine Period. Her name and that of her husband, director Guy Ritchie, is inscribed on the box holding the these items from antiquity. The Tourism Ministry will also present a gift to renowned fashion designer Donna Karan and to other VIPs in the entourage.
The Tourism Minister said that Madonna’s visit to Israel is very important for promoting tourism to Israel and that attention to her visit in the international media will strengthen the flow of tourists to the country and awareness of Israel as a tourist destination. The Tourism Minister intends to use the visit to promote Israel as a tourist destination. Photographs of Madonna’s visit to Israel will be distributed to Tourism Ministry offices abroad. Approximately 1,200 guests from 22 countries will accompany Madonna on her visit to Israel, organized by the Center for Kabala. The Tourism Ministry will assist the security for Madonna and the other guests during their stay in Israel. Members of the group will visit the grave of the Rashbi (Harav Shimon Bar Yochai), as well as Zfat, Jerusalem and the Galilee. Tourism Ministry Director General, Aharon Domb, says that Madonna’s visit joins an honorable list of overseas celebrities who have visited Israel in the past year: Whitney Houston, Christopher Reeve, Eric Braeden and Chris Noth. BPI-info
