Not content to open her upcoming MDNA world tour in Israel on May 29, pop icon Madonna added an additional show on May 31, under the banner “Concert for Peace.” Both shows will take place at Ramat Gan Stadium, just outside Tel Aviv. According to the organizers over

Madonna

30,000 tickets to the tour debut in Israel have already been sold with over 2,000 travel packages, including hotel accommodations, for tourists arriving from abroad.

“Music is so universal and if there’s any chance that through my performance I can bring further attention and enlightenment to honor the peace efforts in the Middle East and help people come together, it would be an honor for me. It is my way of thanking those who are making so much effort toward bringing peace to the Middle East,” said Madonna in a statement posted on her fan club website.

Madonna last appeared in Israel in 2009, when she closed her “Sticky and Sweet” tour here. The tour became the second-highest grossing tour of all time with $408 million in receipts. Between two other tour appearances and visits to attend events at the Tel Aviv Kabbala Center, she has been a frequent visitor and pro-Israel advocate. Madonna is one of many great artists coming to Israel this summer including Lady Gaga, Guns n’ Roses and The Scorpians.

Legendary American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses with Axel Rose will take the stage at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park on July 3^rd, 2012. This will be GNR’s second concert in Israel, having played the same arena at the height of their success in May 1993.

The European hard rock band will precede Guns N Roses with a ‘farewell’ concert at the 11,000 seat Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv on May 7

Last but not least, the Red Hot Chili Peppers,  one of America’s  top rock bands will round out the hot summer concert season with a performance in September at a site to be determined shorty. Both Lady GaGa and Madonna are also lined up for LIVE performances in the metro Tel Aviv area during the summer tourist season.

Guns N' Roses

For the first time in her illustrious career, Madonna  announced the she will kick-off  her world tour with a star studded concert in Ramat Gan Stadium (near Tel Aviv) on May 29. Madonna, who has admitted in several TV interviews that Israel “energizes” her, will spend close to 2 weeks in Israel in the run-up to her concert, which is expected to draw over 30,000 fans and a host of international and local celebs.

The world tour to promote her new album, MDNA,  is the Queen of Pop’s fourth performance in Israel.

Madonna also visited Israel in 2004 and 2007 on private pilgrimages, along with other Kabbalah devotees. She’s been dabbling in Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism,

and has given herself a Hebrew name-Esther

Ticket prices for the concert will range between $50-200…

Madonna

The Holy City of Jerusalem beat out trendy Tel Aviv in a new survey conducted amongst millions of touists who surf and review on the inter-active TripAdvisor travel website. Globe-trotting tourists chose Jerusalem as one of the Top 15 must experience travel destinations.

In addition, the internationally renowned Preferred Hotel Group (based in California & Illinois), chose the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel to become a member of the prestigious Preferred Hotels & Resorts “luxury collection” of world-class vacation facilities. The Inbal is also Preferred’s FIRST hotel assignment in Israel. Mazal Tov!

Kellan "Twilight" Lutz at the Inbal

The Inbal Laromme Hotel, which was recently named as Israel’s #1 hotel by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, has also become a popular venue for many of Hollywood’s leading TV and film stars.

Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24″), Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”), Shaun Sipos (“Melrose Place”), Justin Chatwin (“Shameless”) and Austin Nichols (“One Tree Hill”), recently spent a week at the Inbal Laromme Hotel, as part of their action-packed journey across Israel, which was sponsored by America’s Voices in Israel (part of the Conference of President’s of Major American Jewish Organizations), El Al, Israel Airlines and the Israel Ministry of Information & Diaspora. Rabbi Irwin Katsof, the Executive Director of America’s Voices in Israel, escorted the stars to many of Israel’s most inspiring historical, religious and cultural attractions.

“When we visited the Western Wall, we ended up dancing with a group of Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Friday evening (Shabbat), which was amazing,” Grunberg kvelled. “The soldiers are the real ‘HEROES.’ Everyone has been so incredibly nice to us in Israel and Inbal Laromme Hotel is an amazing place.”

Nichols added, “Many people are scared to come to this part of the world. But that fear is based on ignorance. All of us are going to love telling our friends and family about our various experiences, including the hotel, where everyone took really good care of us.”

Said Yuli Edelstein, Israel’s Minister of Information and Diaspora, “When a politician says something about Israel, you’ll think that he/she is just towing the party line. But when these stars speak about their experiences, it’s the ultimate truth, including what they’ve said about the Inbal Laromme Hotel, which was not only cited for being the top hotel in Israel, but was also recognized as one of the best hotels in the entire Middle East!”

Prime-time stars pose on the terrace of the Inbal Laromme Hotel.

The globe-trotting readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, one of the world’s most influential travel publications, have chosen the Inbal Laromme Hotel as the NUMBER ONE hotel in Israel, and fourth amongst all, “properties representing the pinnacle of luxury in the Middle East.”

Nearly 29,000 readers participated in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2011 “Reader’s Choice Awards”, whose results were most recently published in the magazine’s BEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD EDITION.

This is the first time that readers selected the Inbal Laromme Hotel, as the best place to enjoy a luxury vacation, amongst all Jerusalem hotels and Israeli properties in general.

“We are both honored and thrilled that Conde Nast Traveler’s sophisticated readers have chosen the Inbal Laromme Hotel as the #4^thranked hotel in the entire Middle East and the top hotel in Israel,” stated Bruno De Schuyter, General Manager of the Inbal Laromme Hotel. “During its 30 years of existence, the Inbal Laromme Hotel has garnered a well-earned reputation for providing a myriad of personalized services to couples, families, business executives, heads of state and international celebrities, who wish to indulge themselves within our inviting surroundings, as well as offering a fascinating gateway to the physical and spiritual beauty of Jerusalem. This accolade is also the ultimate seal of approval for our professional staff, which arrives at the hotel every morning with a goal of pleasing our cosmopolitan clientele.”

Kellan "Twilight" Lutz at the Inbal Laromme Hotel

The Jewish National Fund announced the “Forester for  Day” program, a new ecological initiative, offering visitors a unique opportunity to help maintain Israel’s forests, prevent forest fires, and guarantee a greener tomorrow for Israel.

The program runs for 2-3 hours and is open Sunday-Thursday 8 am – 3pm and Friday 8 – noon. Program participants will have the opportunity to work side-by-side in groups with KKL-JNF foresters to clear underbrush, prune trees, prepare fire breaks and forest paths in the Carmel Region forests.

The forester for a day program is suitable for groups of 15 – 150 and is available in English, French, German and Spanish. The cost is $18 per person. Upon completion, each participant receives a KKL-JNF hat, pin and certificate of appreciation.

Jewish National Fund is leading the quest for a more environmental Israel: open spaces, forests, recreation areas and appreciation for Israel’s  natural and cultural heritage. KKL- JNF’s work in Israel is concentrated in six action areas that include water, forestry and environment, education, community development and security, tourism and recreation, research and development.

For more information, call: 011-972-2-6707367 or visit : http://www.kkl.org.il/kkl/kklmain_blue_eng.aspx

  Last month, 346,000 visitors came to Israel – the highest number in the last few years, save for last year in when 400,000 arrived (a 14% decrease). The decrease, compared to last year, is the result of the recent Jewish holiday season which caused hotel and airfare prices to increase dramatically (this year, Yom Kippur and Sukkot fell on October while last year they were in September). Another explanation for this decrease is the tourism crisis in Egypt which continues to influence cross-border traffic.

 Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov: “Representatives of the Tourism Ministry in 17 Israel Government Tourism Offices worldwide are actively promoting tourism to Israel, while dealing with the various obstacles in each country. Despite regional events, geopolitical and economic crises, we have been able to stabilize incoming tourism with intensive and targeted marketing in traditional markets in the United States and Europe and more intense activities in new markets in Asia and South America.”

France is the third largest source country for incoming tourism after the United States and Russia. The period January to September saw a 2% increase in tourism traffic from France to Israel. The average expenditure of a French tourist in Israel is $1172 per visit, while most of the tourists from France are Jewish (78%) and only a minority is Catholic (17%).

Dead Sea

The luxury beachfront Dan Tel Aviv Hotel is accustomed to rolling out the red carpet to welcome VIPs from all over the world.

Arriving at the hotel  for her third visit was renowned pop singer Marianne Faithfull. On arrival the singer requested a dry martini and Israeli delicacies such as; hummus, pita bread, olives and falafel.

She was staying in a luxury suite with a spacious balcony overlooking the Mediterranean and was in Israel for two concerts: one in Tel Aviv and the other in Binyamina. Ms. Faithful is on tour in order to promote her 23rd album, “Horses and High Heels”

.Jason Alexander, better known as George Costanza in the popular comedy,  ”Seinfeld”, arrived at Dan Tel Aviv  for a one-night visit and lodged in the Royal Suite.
The famous actor visited Israel as part of a senior delegation supporting the movement  “One Voice”, which aims to promote peace in the Middle East, is staying in the hotel’s
 Zac Posen, the top American fashion designerc who was in town for the Israeli version of FASHION WEEK in nearby Holon,checked in to the hotelfor a three night stay. 

Jason at the Dan Tel Aviv. (Courtesy: Dan Hotels)

For over two years, famed Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio “invested” in a romantic relationship with Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli. During this period, DiCaprio visited Israel and interacted with a who’s who list of local celebs and business moguls. Israel, which is renowned as “Start-Up Nation” based on the ability of young and middle-aged entrepreneurs to create cutting-edge hi-tech and bio-tech companies, is attracting “investment tourists” who jet into Tel Aviv in order to see, hear and meet the brains behind these projects. Within the past year, DiCaprio heard about and followed MOBLI, “a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!” The buzz around MOBLI’s possibilities motivated DiCaprio to invest several million dollars in the fledgling start-up in late October.

Leonardo DiCaprio (right) poses with the creators of MOBLI. (Courtesy:MOBLI)