‘I'm an Ambassador for Judaism,' Madonna Says

JERUSALEM — Madonna toasted the Jewish new year with President Peres of Israel and declared herself an "ambassador for Judaism," local newspapers reported yesterday. The singer, who is not Jewish, arrived in Israel Wednesday on the eve of Jewish new year to attend a conference on Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism.

Madonna met Mr. Peres at his official Jerusalem residence on Saturday, and the two exchanged gifts, with Madonna receiving a lavishly bound copy of the Old Testament. She gave Mr. Peres a volume of "The Book of Splendor," the guiding text of Kabbalah, inscribed "To Shimon Peres, the man I admire and love, Madonna," Yediot Achronot reported.