JERUSALEM, May 16 (UPI) -- Israel's tabloid media is having a heyday with a controversy amid the diplomatic corps over who did and didn't get photographed with Madonna.
While the singing star with a very Christian stage name and newfound belief in the Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism visited Israel last year, the after-effects of the visit continue, The Times of London said Monday.
The center of the controversy is whether a politician's miffed wife had an aide fired for not arranging a photo opportunity with Madonna.
Judy Shalom, the wife of Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, adamantly denies she had anything to do with the man's firing from Israel's embassy in Washington, which organized the photo session. Shalom missed out, while Ehud Olmert, who is now Israel's Deputy Prime Minister managed to get a picture taken.
The foreign ministry insisted the official's three-year contract had expired and the decision to get rid of the aide was "purely a professional one" arising from a realignment of Israel's overseas missions.
