Israeli victims of Hamas terrorists immortalised in Star of David and Lion of Judah tattoos

A tattoo artist in Israel appears to be inundated with requests for the Star of David and sometimes with the added Lion of Judah tattoo. It may include a map of Israel as well.

Source: The Times.

In Israel, tattoos are popular with the young despite, apparently, a biblical prohibition against them because of their associations with the Holocaust survivors who were tattooed with a number by the Nazis.

Image assessed as being in the public domain.

A month after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks which killed 1,400 Israelis, there has been a clamour for these tattoos to memorialise the lives of the victims massacred by Hamas terrorists. 

The first to be killed where Jews living about a kilometer from the border between Israel and Gaza in Kibbutz as these were the first places that the Hamas terrorists encountered on their rampage.

The tattoos are an act of remembrance and defiance. An act of free will to tell the world that they are strong.

A tattoo artist in a city in the center of Israel thought that he wouldn't get any requests to do tattoos during wartime, "But in the end I see that, sadly, I am tattooing every day."

Many of Liav Forer's clients are survivors from that well-known party - a music festival - where a major massacre took place (at least 260 killed). 

Image assessed as being in the public domain.

There are different variations on the theme in these tattoos.  I find it very touching. And of course, I'm interested in the Lion of Judah as I'm interested in cats. See Lion of Judah Tattoo.

The Lion of Judah is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah (according to Wikipedia).

As I recall, only one cat is mentioned in the Bible and guess what? It is the lion, the Lion of Judah.

RELATED: Cats in the Bible.

You'll see reference to this in the New Testament in Revelation 5:5:

"Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Picture of cat tattoo discussion

Here is a nice TikTok video of a charming young woman telling us why she wanted a cat tattoo but not of her cat. She was correctly anxious about the tattoo not being a decent likeness of her cat. That would have been too difficult to bear. So, she took a picture from Messrs Google. This makes a lot of sense to me. I am sure that it is impossible for a tattoo artist to accurately replicate the appearance of your cat. It is always going to be a failure.

To play the video please click on the center play button and then the play button lower left! 😎. Yes, I know it is a very high-tech website.

I wrote the section below in 2008, 14 years ago! The bit above has been added on June 27th 2022. I felt that the page needed to be refreshed.

Part 2

Something completely different for me - picture of a cat tattoo. Cat tattoos are popular it seems. As my site is called "Pictures of Cats" it means any pictures of cats and not just photographs of cats. There is the interesting dimension of why people tattoo at all and why cats? A study of human nature is important in the study of domestic cats as the latter is dependent on the former. Here's a picture of a cat tattoo or three :) with the stories that go with them. 

 

1. This is a picture of a cat tattoo on a women's arm photographed by Tzatziki and her copyright (she is female I think). The woman who has the tattoo is a graphic designer apparently. It is part of a bigger tattoo which the owner called The Debutante. The photograph was taken in the queue to the toilet (bathroom in the USA). It is very simple and elegant the photographer says. I agree. The photographer didn't know the person with the tattoo, but you can get to meet people in queues quite easily as it passes the time nicely. Maybe it was a party? What makes people have tattoos. There is probably a lot going on in the head that is unseen and which we can glimpse at if that person has a tattoo. I think it originates in the desire to decorate ourselves that goes back probably millions of years. Many animals are "decorated" to be more noticeable, to stand out. It is a form of exhibitionism.

 

2. This is a Cheshire cat on a man's leg. You've got to look closely to see that it is a Cheshire Cat. The photograph is by nats . This was taken at Disneyland. The photographer didn't know the subject and while the photograph was being taken Tinkerbell was lighting up the night sky. Tattooing may be a remnant (or a continuing need) to mark events in ones life. Two of the women's tattoos are big cats. This is a marker that they have grown from a girl to womanhood and to beware, perhaps :) Perhaps she is saying she is an individual to be taken notice of. A marker of a rite of passage from one part of her life to another. A Cheshire cat, the subject matter of the tattoo on this person, was created by Lewis Caroll. The cat smiled and asked Alice in Wonderland difficult and philosophical questions. The tattoo may be a statement about this person's character.

 3. This is a photograph of a "bondage kitten", believe it or not. It was taken by the friend of the person with the tattoo, who said he was going to have it done and when the two bumped into each other he showed it off. This photograph was taken by gillicious My guess is that the title "bondage kitten" is just making a picture of a cat playing with string a lot more sexy for the client.

 4. This is a tattoo of a big cat on the left arm of a female pop band member. Yes sir it is that....It looks like a leopard. Big cats are popular for obvious reasons. People like cats; big cats are very impressive and beautiful creatures so are good subjects for body decoration. There may also be an element of female power, women's liberation stuff here. Beauty and strength combined being the message. The photograph was taken by acb and is copyright acb.

5. This is another picture of a cat tattoo. This time a big cat, a panther, on the arm of a woman. It's more woman power stuff I think. Picture is copyright and by mhaithaca Update: Picture of cat tattoo -- 

Here are some more added later (19th January 2009): Photo by graphic.ward - very delicate and tasteful. What do you think?

   

Picture of Cat Tattoo  above-- Photo by chaserpaul. This tattoo is in memory of a beloved cat that has gone over the rainbow bridge. His name was E.D. The cat tattoo was done in 3 2-hour-sittings by Dirk of East Atlanta Tattoo. 

 Picture of Cat Tattoo -- Risks involved in tattooing 

I think a bit of information on the risks is useful to people considering a cat tattoo. As we know, a tattoo is made by piercing the skin and injecting colored ink into the skin. It can be quite painful understandably. The skin is the body's main protection against infection. Once damaged by the tattoo machine, at least potentially, there is a risk of infection. Also, the long-term effects of the dyes placed in the skin are unknown as they are unregulated. Some possible illnesses that can occur on being tattooed (these it would seem are relatively rare considering the number of tattoos carried out) are:

• if the machinery making the tattoo is contaminated by hepatitis C, hepatitis B, tetanus, tuberculosis and HIV (AIDS), then these diseases could infect the person being tattooed.
• either bumps (granulomas) or scarring (keloids) can occur around the area of the tattoo.
• bacterial infections that can lead to blood infections, pneumonia and/or painful, flesh-destroying condition that is called necrotizing fasciitis.
• the dyes can cause an allergic reaction, which may happen years later.
• if you have to go to hospital for an MRI scan, sometimes (rarely) the tattooed area may burn or swell.

As I said these are relatively rare but precautions including choosing a top-notch tattoo artist, I would have thought were essential as one's health is involved for the sake of decoration.

 

Making Tattoo Ink from Cat Hair is a Misleading Concept

You may have heard of this. A tattoo artist is using the fur of your cat as a base for the ink that he uses. Once the ink is applied to the skin the concept is that you have a piece of your cat under your skin and therefore very close to you in perpetuity.

It's a way of having your cat with you after he or she has passed on. A female model, Kathrin Toelle, has had a large tattoo applied to her right thigh by a Swiss tattoo service known as Skin46 who claim that they extract medically clean organic carbon from the cat's hair and then transform that product into tattoo ink.

Tattoo Artist Roman Abrego/Model Kathrin Toelle

Skin46 say that they incinerate the hair through extremely high temperatures removing all impurities and carcinogenic compounds to create a pure carbon which is mixed with tattoo ink.

Of course it has to be purified because you cannot, as a tattoo artist, inject tainted material under a person's skin for obvious health reasons.

My argument is this: if you are reducing the hair of a cat to pure carbon you are destroying all DNA. If you are destroying all DNA then nothing remains of your cat. Therefore you are not injecting a piece of your cat under your skin.

My research indicates that the only time that DNA can survive a cremation is when bits of bone or teeth remain afterwards which are then crushed down. These fragments of teeth and bone will contain DNA. Of course, this cannot happen in the process described by the tattoo artist. The material has to be very fine, purified carbon and therefore this reinforces my opinion that it contains no DNA.

Therefore I would argue, politely, that Skin46 is misrepresenting their service. The client thinks that they have a piece of their cat under their skin but I would argue that they don't.

The concept is similar to making jewelry from the cremated remains of your pet. That process too would seem to be flawed.

Tribal Lion Tattoo

Lion Head - from tribalshapes.com

Introduction

This is an article on the tribal lion tattoo. I know and like lions. This site is about cats and I have made a post about tattoos (picture of cat tattoo). Tribal tattoos interest me. I am not an anthropologist but I do know that a society based on a tribal structure predates the concept of states and larger groups of people. We only have to look at Africa to see some countries going backwards (or perhaps, it could be argued, forwards) into a tribal structure. When the typical government breaks down it seems that people form or revert to tribes, in which they feel safer and more comfortable. Is this the reason for the upsurge in teenage gangs and tribal tattoos?

Tribal Lion Tattoo - unfinished - photo by gregm51

In London, UK teenage gang culture on the poorer estates is common. These teenagers, it could be argued, form gangs (or if you like tribes to use an older term) as a means of finding "belonging". This is perhaps because they cannot find that in their family unit or in the nation as a whole. The concept of family is on the wane. In the UK, for the first time since the creation of the unit of marriage, there are more single people than married people. It could be argued that the growth in the single parent is in line with the growth in the number of teenage gangs. And when people are part of a gang or tribe they like to mark that in some way, to tell the world that they belong. This is also a sign of strength through unity.

Gang culture extends to criminals and prison. For example, A.C.A.B. stands for "All Coppers Are Bastards" and is a prison tattoo in the United Kingdom. "Copper" means police in the UK.

The tribal tattoo is the perfect way to demonstrate to the world that the person is a tribal member. And the tribal lion tattoo is one of the most popular, I am guessing, because the lion is revered by people as one of the finest if not the finest hunter on the planet. People like to be associated with that and gain strength from that association. Also, the Celtic style tattoo is popular today. The one opposite is a Celtic flower/circle tattoo design. The Celtic tattoo look is distinctive. There were many Celtic tribes during Roman times.

Tribalism

The unit of a tribe is smaller than that of a country or state. It is more manageable and supportive. The structure of a tribe is simpler than that of a nation (a much larger and more complex group). Tribalism has been referred to as "primitive communism" as, within a tribe, there is less of a notion of personal property and there is a greater sense of equality amongst the members. Tribalism is the first social system for humans. Tribes existed before countries and states and larger divisions of people. The social structure of tribes has a longer history than any other in the history of humankind. It has endured because it satisfies the human's need to socialize. Humans are social animals and find it difficult to live alone.

Some people argue that since the dissolution of the tribal structure, civilization is not working. They argue that a return to tribalism, a proven social structure, would solve or improve society.


The Lion

The lion is the supreme hunter. It is the lioness who does the hunting. They hunt in coordinated groups. The lioness is fast but cannot sustain pace over distance. The maximum speed is about 40 mph. The chase for prey will, therefore be over a distance of about 30 meters.

Working together, the lionesses encircle a herd. The attack is quick and powerful. Prey is usually killed by strangulation. The lion clamps her jaws around the neck of the prey or over the mouth and nose so that the animal cannot breath.

Perhaps (a) the mixture of a coordinated approach in which the lionesses support each other and become more effective as a group (a tribe dare I say it - actually it's a pride, a similar term interestingly), (b) the speed and strength of the lion and (c) the fact that the lion is a top predator (after the human) makes the tribal lion tattoo particularly popular.

Tribal Lion Tattoo

Tribal tattoos are going through a revival. The tribal tattoo is very particular in appearance. It is made up of a very strong design, thick usually black lines and swirls with sharp edges and points (see below right).

Although some tattoos are simply body decoration, most people have tattoos for reasons of religion, spiritual belief, personal convictions or to mark out that person as part of a group (or lets say, tribe). The desire to "belong" runs deep in all of us. Tribal tattoos can reinforce a positive feeling about ourselves and can give us a feeling of a connection with the ancient past.

Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples. It was also popular among some tribal groups in the Mentawai Islands, Philippines, Borneo, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Africa, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. It is still popular in many parts of the world.

The word tattoo comes from the Samoan word tatau, which means "open wound". The word tatau became the word tattoo probably because it was spelled as it sounded to English people.

Some good websites (but you'll have to pay) for designs including tribal lion tattoo designs are:

• Chopper Tattoo
• Tatto Me Now
• Tattoo My Brain

Tribal Lion Tattoo? Feline head - from Tribal Shapes.com

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Photos published under creative commons license -

• Celtic flower/circle tattoo design - photo by Bull Schit
• Lion head and teeth - Wikimedia commons - author Mila Zinkova
• Tribal tattoo courtesy http://www.tattoosdesignshop.com
• Wild cat design bottom: http://crazy-tattoo-designs.com