TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Madonna performs the second of two concerts in the Holy Land this evening.
     
At Tuesday's show in Tel Aviv, the 51-year-old pop star told 50,000 fans that she believes "Israel is the energy center of the world."
     
Madonna has long claimed a special bond with the Jewish state. She's been dabbling in Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, for more than a decade and has adopted a Hebrew name: Esther. She also made private pilgrimages to Israel in 2004 and 2007. When she arrived in Israel this past Sunday, Madonna visited the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
     
At previous stops on her current tour, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians accused Madonna of showing disrespect for Christianity.
 

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AP-NY-09-02-09 0351EDT