Madonna in Tel Aviv. (Reuters)

Tel Aviv, Sept. 20 (Reuters): Pop star Madonna was hesitant to visit Israel because of news reports about violence but found the biggest danger was ?a few very naughty paparazzi?.

?To be perfectly honest I was a bit hesitant to come here after seeing so many news reports about terrorist attacks and reading countless travel safety warnings,? she said in the Holy Land on Sunday.

But the biggest danger she faced was ?a few very naughty paparazzi waiting outside my hotel?, she told fellow followers of Kabbalah, a new-age brand of the Jewish mystical belief.

Her five-day visit was marred on Friday when two of her bodyguards got into a brawl with waiting photographers at her Tel Aviv hotel. Madonna, accompanied by her husband British film director Guy Ritchie, was visibly moved after praying at the grave of a Jewish sage in Jerusalem on Saturday night.

But she was unable to approach the Western Wall, part of Judaism?s holiest site, due to throngs of photographers.

Madonna, who recently adopted the Hebrew name Esther and wears a trademark Kabbalah red string on her wrist, has said she is serious about her belief in Jewish mysticism and is irritated by accusations her faith is nothing more than a celebrity fad.