A few days ago, Madonna pulled out of her Israeli concerts. Her spokeswoman blamed it on the “political climate.” There was even speculation that her decision was due to her interest in Kabbalah, which is frowned upon by rabbinical leaders in Israel.
But now, The Sun has this interesting follow-up story:
Madonna has axed three gigs in Israel ó after terrorists threatened to kill her and her kids.
The singer was terrified by a blitz of poison-pen letters.
Madge “freaked out” when she learned of a terrorist plot to kill her two young children if she performed in Israel.
She first planned to defy the extremists but cancelled after the unnamed Palestinian group mentioned details about Lourdes, seven, and three-year-old Rocco in a series of threatening letters.
A source said: “The notes were unbelievably scary. Madonna is a strong woman but she freaked out when her kids were mentioned.
“At first she was prepared to go on stage anyway and hire extra security.
“But she was not ready to take chances with her kids ó they are her whole world.”
The threats were sent to the singerís offices in Los Angeles.
They became more frightening as they displayed in-depth knowledge of the starís closest aides.
The source added: ìIt became clear that these people were not messing around ó they even knew intimate details like who her personal staff are.
“She thought she was being targeted because of her Jewish Kabbalah religion. But this group were threatening her because she represents many things they hate about the West.”
Madonna, married to Brit film director GUY RITCHIE, has not performed in Israel since her 1993 Girlie Show.
She had booked three dates in September at the Tel Aviv stadium ó including a televised concert on September 11 to mark the third anniversary of al-Qaedaís attacks on America.
Madonna’s people last night insisted the Israel leg of her Re-Invention tour has been cancelled because the singer wants to concentrate on Europe.
But insiders say nothing except this security alert would have stopped her travelling to Tel Aviv.
The PLO Arab terrorist groups involved have apparently accused Madonna of overreacting, saying that they never intended to kidnap and kill her children, but rather just verify their identities.
Update: And now the Jerusalem Post are running with this story. But you heard it first here, folks.
Update: And now Ha’aretz joins the fray. It is fun to beat the mainstream media to the punch, but I just hope that there is actually some substance to this story, as opposed to it being the usual tabloid drivel.