The Material Girl is at it once again. It seems Madonna doesn’t know how to live without the glaring eye of the public on her. In her “material world,” everything revolves around her. It’s about her beliefs, her life and her feelings. And it’s only a matter of time before she sings her own version of “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”

A few years ago, Mrs. Guy Richie found religion; she and her family began following the Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. To show her devotion, the trendsetter now sports a red bracelet.

She won’t tell you she’s Jewish; she says she’s still a Christian. According to Esther (her Jewish name), following the Kabbalah does not make a person Jewish.

Many would beg to differ.

As some of us know, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was Sept. 15. To celebrate, Madonna went with a group from Los Angeles to the Holy Land for five days.

Madonna is notorious for doing what she wants, regardless of public opinion. In fact, her total disregard has managed to irritate a lot of people. I never thought I would be one of those people – but here I am.

Now, this is the problem: One of the sites she visited was in Bethlehem. What and where is Bethlehem, you ask? A major Palestinian city in the West Bank. What is in Bethlehem, you ask? Among other things, Rachel’s Tomb, an important Jewish site.

Life in Bethlehem is very difficult. Last summer, after a month of begging my family, I visited Bethlehem with my aunt. I went to the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born. In recent events, the church is famous for the 38-day siege of Bethlehem by the Israeli Defense Force because alleged militants found refuge there.

Our first stop was the church; we were met by a tour guide who told us about what happened during the siege – how the people inside ate, what they drank, how they slept and where they put the corpses of those who had died. He also showed us the machine-gun bullets outlining the church.

After the tour, we walked around the market and spoke to the local people. At the currency exchange, the owner spoke of how Bethlehem used to be a busy, vibrant city. Now, he said, people are in their homes by 2 or 3 p.m. The market, once the most bustling area in the city, is a deserted area where people go only out of necessity.

So this is the place where Madonna wants to go worship. This is where people have to endure heavier security because of the Jewish holidays and because a celebrity has come to town. And Israel will do anything to make this a good trip for the queen bee and send a message to the rest of world that Israel is not a war zone and that it has control over the people it oppresses.

Madonna does not realize the impact of her trip. On her last day in Tel Aviv, she claimed she and all the people she met during her trip “have one thing in common – we want to create peace in the world.”

Madonna thinks she created peace with her trip – well, at least she is a material girl with a sense of humor.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.