JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

NYT: Tattoos fit for Jews

By Ami Eden · July 16, 2008

The New York Times reports today that you shouldn't believe your grandmother: Tattoos are kosher everything your grandmother told you about tattoos:

Nearly every Jew, from those who go to synagogue only on holidays to those who dutifully follow Jewish law, has heard that adage. It has deterred many from being inked, even as tattoos have become widespread among N.B.A. players and housewives alike.

According to a 2007 poll of 1,500 people conducted by the Pew Research Center, 36 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds and 40 percent of 26- to 40-year-olds have at least one tattoo. Still, even Larry David was so haunted by the cemetery edict that he wrote an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in which he pays off a gravedigger to have his mother reburied in a Jewish cemetery despite a small tattoo on her behind.

But the edict isn't true. The eight rabbinical scholars interviewed for this article, from institutions like the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yeshiva University, said it's an urban legend. It was most likely started because a specific cemetery had a policy against tattoos. Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time, their distaste for tattoos was presented as scriptural doctrine.

13 Comments | Share This | Uncategorized |

The swap and the pain

By Uriel Heilman · July 16, 2008

The wrenching images of today's prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah – in which the Regev and Goldwasser families learned that their loves ones were dead while Israel handed over Lebanese murderer Samir Kuntar to Hezbollah – commanded the attention of all of Israel today.

Israeli media anticipated and reported on the event with a combination of pain, anger and resignation:

Media Line's David Harris, in Ynet: "The poster on the Lebanese side of the border said it all: Israel sheds tears of sorrow, Lebanon sheds tears of joy."

Ma'ariv has an interview with the man who captured Samir Kuntar (Hebrew): "After 29 years, Rami Salmon recalls the capture of the terrorist and tells of the thought that still bugs him: Would he have changed history if he shot him?"

Ha'aretz editorial: "The cabinet's approval of the prisoner swap with Hezbollah, despite the 'blatantly unsatisfactory' report the organization delivered on the fate of Ron Arad, requires the cabinet to now act urgently to free Gilad Shalit."

Jerusalem Post editorial: "The Lebanese people and government - and those others in the Arab world, including among the Palestinians, so delighted by Kuntar's release - might want to ask themselves whether this monster is worthy of such glorification. Is he the kind of man they want as their idol? And if so, what does that say about them?"

JTA's Dina Kraft has a piece in The New York Times on the old wound the swap deal reopened for the Israeli family whose life Kuntar destroyed.

Keshet TV has video footage of Goldwasser and Regev in happier times, on reserve duty in 2004.

Lebanon declared a national holiday Wednesday to welcome home Kuntar and the other terrorists released from Israel (Channel 10 and Ha'aretz): Watch video.

5 Comments | Share This | Arab-Israeli Conflict, Israel |

Olmert’s (former) Evagelical Christian friends

By Ami Eden · July 16, 2008

Reuters looks at Ehud Olmert's ties to Evangelical Christians, and how they've suffered due to his peace policies:

An Israeli investigation into fraud and corruption has turned a spotlight on how Ehud Olmert, when mayor of Jerusalem, raised funds from rich American Jews.

Less in view have been fruitful financial ties Olmert enjoyed with evangelical Christians in the United States, a relationship that became strained after the prime minister launched talks with Palestinians that could return parts of Jerusalem to Arab rule. ...

Olmert's relationship with many Christians has soured.

"I think he's changed over the years and power can do that," said one pastor who attended Olmert's fundraisers in the past.

"I don't think it's the same Ehud Olmert that we knew."

0 Comments | Share This | Uncategorized |