Madonna’s friends
to join her in Israel

Madonna won’t be the only celeb going to Israel to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The Reinvented singer — who has become a leading proponent of Kabbalah — will be making a pilgrimage to Tel Aviv in September to celebrate the Jewish holidays, and a source says that she will be joined by hunky actor Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, as well as Donna Karan.

The source says the “Van Helsing” star and the designing woman have become “quite involved” in the controversial offshoot of Judaism. “We still haven’t gotten a confirmation from Demi [Moore] and Ashton [Kutcher],” says the insider. “[Moore is] shooting a movie [“Half Light”] in Wales and might not be able to join us.”

What’s more, says the source, the ABC news magazine “20/20” will be filming the entire event and interviewing the Kabbalah Centre’s leader, Rabbi Philip Berg — his first time ever on camera. A spokeswoman for the show told The Scoop, “I can’t confirm that.” Karan’s rep couldn’t be reached and Jackman’s said he had no info on the story.

“It will be quite the media event for Kabbalah,” says the source. “This all comes a month before a publicity extravaganza in October, including a billboard on Sunset Boulevard to promote a book on the red string — which wards off the evil eye — as the got-to-have religious fashion accessory of the season.”

Apple of her eye

Matt Sayles / AP file

Gwyneth Paltrow, doing a junket to promote “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” interrupted the event several times with unscheduled breaks, but a source says the star wasn’t being a prima donna — she was being a momma.

“She was taking breaks to breast-feed Apple,” says an insider. “She would only see several people at a time, before she’d excuse herself. It was one of the conditions of her agreeing to promote the film.”

And the source adds, “I have to say, she looked great. I’m not a great Gwyneth fan, but she looked much prettier after her pregnancy than she did before. She positively glowed.”

Notes from all over

Max Rossi / Reuters file

Jennifer Aniston doesn’t have to worry about Lena Olin trying to steal  hubby Brad Pitt. The Swedish actress blasted the looks of the “Troy” hunk. “What I think is beautiful isn’t the ideal for many others,” Olin told the newspaper Aftonbladet.  “Models are boring to look at.  You don’t want to look at Pamela Anderson.  And Brad Pitt, yeah, he looks totally stupid. [“skitkorkad” was the actual word she used, and our source says “totally stupid” is a charitable interpretation]. What I look for is something inside that’s exciting and interesting. “  . . . Britney Spears’ big brother Bryan will make a cameo in her video for “My Prerogative.” There won’t be much bumping and grinding in the video, however, because Spears’ injured knee is still healing.  . . .  50 Cent doesn’t live up to his low-cost name when it comes to back stage demands. The rapper’s “want list” runs a whopping 30 pages, according to the London Sun, which reports that it includes requests for “a dozen assorted cookies, two buckets of KFC chicken, six corn on the cob, a case of beer, two gallons of milk, four gallons of juice . . . 12 fluffy bath towels and ‘immaculate’ [restrooms].”

Jeannette Walls Delivers the Scoop Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com

MORE FROM GOSSIP

Gossip Section Front

Scoop: Madonna's speedy divorce no surprise Scoop: Jennifer Aniston gets a kick out of ‘Friends’ Tidbits: Breastfeeding twins proved tough for Jolie Scoop: Tom Cruise laughable in ‘Valkyrie’ Scoop: Britney to appear at 30 Rock tree lighting Tidbits: J.Lo and Marc want a bigger brood Scoop: Palin book deal could rake in $7 million Scoop: No wedding plans for Lindsay and Sam The Scoop section Tabloid Tidbits section Gossip Section Front   Add Gossip headlines to your news reader: