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012 Ami James of Miami Ink – unplugged

 
Miami Ink

For the last two thousand years, the tattoo has been universally recognized as a sign of shame to the Tribes of Israel and for thousands of years a symbol of everything that is vapid, corrupt and finite about the Gentile world.

Jewish Mayhem Online Magazine

Jewish Mayhem Online Magazine

In our holy Torah, in sefer Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:28, it is explicitly written that Jews are not allowed tattoos. Why tattoos are forbidden to Jews exactly is not explained anywhere else in the Torah but the topic is elaborated on in numerous locations in the Talmud, which only compound the gravity of violating this prohibition.

The Levitical prohibition is a non-sensical prohibition in the sense that we do not know why the Creator forbid us from getting tattoos because it is not explained explicitly like in the cases of other laws mentioned. We are able to deduce notions as to the Creator’s reasons, such as that it is an abomination or that it is what the Canaanite nations did in those Biblical times and we had to be different from them, but we do not have a specific, simple explanation. In leu of this law’s simplicity, it is completely fair and proper to deduce and to state that tattoos are utterly and completely not Jewish, or Judaic or Hebraic in any sense or capacity based on the ultimate Jewish source, the Torah.

There have been a few instances in Jewish history and culture that we know of when multitudes of Judaeans were tattooed in such numbers as they are today, but in stark contrast to today’s phenomenon which is by choice, every other time in Jewish history, Judaeans were forcefully tattooed en masse by Gentiles as  sign of shame and a marking of a slave or as a prisoner of war or of a concentration camp. What the Austrians and the Germans did in World War II, was not the first time that Judaeans were hunted down, murdered or gathered up brutally, chained up and shipped off as captives or slaves, and then eventually tattooed. The Romans tattooed designations onto slaves, gladiators and soldiers [1] as a matter of regular practice in the Roman Empire until until around 325 CE, and when Judaea was wiped off of the map by Vespasian and Titus in 135 CE., hundreds of thousands of our great-great-great-X50 grand parents were led off by the Romans in chains into slavery and tattooed with markings to identify the Judaean slaves from the non-Judaean slaves for a Judaean slave was only worth a horse in value.

For the last two thousand years, the tattoo has been universally recognized as a sign of shame to the Tribes of Israel and for thousands of years a symbol of everything that is vapid, corrupt and finite about the Gentile world. In sharp contrast to our past, today we have tens of thousands of Jews around the world getting tattooed with every kind of image under the sun for every reason under the sun and the irony is that so many of them are getting tattoos of Jewish pride style imagery and of Biblical verses, it is simply astounding. This change in behavior and mentality all happened in a span of less than one hundred years.

The people of the book have become the people of the tattoo flash book.

Jews have assimilated so much into the Gentile world in the last couple of century that the origins of modern, electric tattooing  has a Jew by the name of Lew Alberts to thank for it’s evolution and it’s course, ironically. Lew was directly responsible for introducing a wealth of new types of tattoo designs into the variety of tattoo styles and designs that were available such as the black panther for example, at the turn of the century.

Miami Ink

Miami Ink

Today on television we see another Jew involved in the tattooing world helping shape it, and his name is Ami James, who is the star of his own hit reality TV series called Miami Ink. When the Miami Ink television show was first aired it became an instant and total success across the world. It was one of TLC’s most highly watched shows attracting between 5-6 million viewers a week and continues to air in syndication worldwide. TLC also capitalized on the success of the show with a Miami Ink Clothing Line and many lucrative licensing deals.

Ami immediately comes across as a pushy, edgy tough guy with a short fuse of a temper and if he didn’t mention that he was Jewish or Israeli, you’d probably never know it based on anything that you see. Ami is a very good artist, a very good tattoo artist and he has a head for business as well which is rare among artists. He wears no visible Chais around his neck, he has no magen davids tattooed on his elbows, he does not have an overt Yiddish or Hebrew accent, and his mannerisms belay nothing Judaic or Israeli.  In other words he looks like a Goy, acts like a Goy, but since his mother is Jewish, he’s a Jew, but you’d never know it using the “You Look Jewish Test.” But don’t immediately assume that just because he seems so sanitized of his Jewishness or his Israeliness on the TV show that he is not proud to be a Jew or to be Israeli, because he is in his own way.  Since actions speak louder than words, Ami already has proven his care for Am Yisrael, when Ami was eighteen he left America and joined the IDF when he did not have too, where he trained and served as a fighter, putting his life on the line to defend Jews in the Jewish State.

Is Ami James a Jew or an Israel to admire? That is for you to decide.

This is a video of a candid interview of Ami James done in NYC .

1. Jones, C.P. “Stigma”: tattooing and branding in Graeco-Roman Antiquity, Journal of Roman Studies, 1987, 77, 139-55: facial stigma represented extreme social degredation.

006 Jewish Image Mayhem

 

Jewish Image Mayhem 006
By Jewish Mayhem

I am always searching for Jewish related images that are out of the ordinary but once in a while the images find me. One of Jewish Mayhem’s fans emailed me this photo of her pussy hair trimmed like a Magen David. FOr her troubles I mailed her a Jewish Mayhem t-shirt. If you would like a Jewish Mayhem t shirt, send me a image of yourself doing something jewish and funny, or cool, or interesting.

Jewish Pride
Jewish Pride

Jewish Pride

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004 TACT: Making Zionism Cool

 

TACT: Making Zionism Cool

By Byron brunswick

First published 2005/2006

TACT Toronto, Canada, 2005 http://www.jewishmayhem.com Photos: Jewish Mayhem

Finally, after many years of suffering the Israeli Occupation of the Israeli radio airwaves by music that preaches an extreme secularism, self-hatred, and anti-Israeli nationalism, a light from Zion has shone forth.

In 2000, Arafat authorized a genocidal guerilla war campaign against Israel known as the 2nd Intafada, and it was during that tense time that Israeli Rap / Hip-Hop artist Kobi Shimoni, known on the street as “Subliminal”, released his first CD, “The Light From Zion”, under Shimoni’s new label, TACT (which stands for Tel Aviv City Team) Records. His partner in crime was another Rap / Hip-Hop artist named Yoav Eliasi, otherwise known as “the Shadow”. The album “The Light From Zion” was recorded shortly after “Subliminal” completed his compulsory three-year army service, and “The Shadow” had completed his service.

When the album “The Light From Zion” was first was released, it caused a tremendous stirring and controversy in the country because of a few reasons: firstly, it sounded really good, secondly, Subliminal’s music was Rap / Hip-Hop, which was a musical genre’ just beginning to become popular in Israel. Thirdly, Rap and Hip-Hop were popularly perceived as an import of  violent American gang music, but more so due to the fact the Subliminal’s lyrics were perceived to be” too nationalist”, or in other words, too proud. Fourthly, his music resonated with millions of Jews around the world because of its  overtly strong, proud to be Jewish, proud to be Israeli style.

Instead of rapping about useless issues, or about how bad Israel is and other typical self-hating themes on Israeli radio, Subliminal rapped about how “the state was dangling like a cigarette in Arafat’s mouth”, that “Israel is ours and we have to be proud of her”, that “those that rise up against her in order to destroy her, must be vanquished without remorse or misplaced mercy.” For the first time as in as long as anyone can remember, a Jew in the Israeli music business stood up, with a big Magen David on his chest proudly and said in a clear voice, “enough”, “ I am proud to be a Hebrew” and “Israel is ours”! Lyrics like “With a Jewish star until the last day of my life”, “Its not a dream to salute your flag”, “HaTikva (national anthem of Israel) in my heart/we are a strong nation/we won’t surrender” And to the absolute surprise and horror of the Ashkenazi and self-hating leftist establishments, his tens of thousands of fans stood up with him and said, “Amen”.

TACTThe immediate reaction of the left wing establishment was to him was to defame and sideline him as “fascist”, “extremist”, and “fanatic”. This is the same tactic that the same establishment’s predecessors used against Jabotinsky, Begin, Shamir, Lieberman, Kahane, and Sharon. But the masses refused to accept this smear campaign and day after day they demanded to hear Subliminal on the Radio until he finally was on the every radio across the country.

In 2001, “Subliminal” and “the Shadow”, released their second CD called “The Light & The Shadow”. The cover dramatically shows a muddy fist clutching a Silver Star of David pendant. Three songs on the second CD HaTikva, HaFinaly, and Yeled Rehov have since become massive radio hits. When asked about the cover, Subliminal said, “Two years back, the Magen David was like a mockery. It was kept hidden under people’s shirts. Nobody would walk out like that and have been proud of it. We helped make into a cool thing, that it’s ok to be Jewish and to be proud about it by showing it off”. Indeed what Subliminal said is true, because Jewelry makers in Israel are confirming that they have noticed a dramatic upswing in sales of Magen David necklaces.

TACT “Most of the songs on this CD “The Light & The Shadow”, talk about the political situation in Israel and about the honor of being a Jew,” says Subliminal. “These songs talk to both the Israeli and the Jewish people. In the hit “Divide and Conquer,” Subliminal sings: “Dear God, I wish you could come down, because I’m being persecuted. My enemies are united; they want to destroy me. We’re nurturing and arming those who hate us. Enough!” But not all of the songs on “The Light From Zion” and “The Light & The Shadow” are political; many of the songs on the CD’s are pure bump-and-grind tracks over the sounds of Persian strings”.

Subliminal and The Shadow have apparently hit the right nerves with their music and their message because the CDs, “The Light From Zion” has hit Gold level sales, and “The Light & The Shadow” has touched on double platinum. TACT recently published the third album titled TACT All-stars, where Subliminal and The Shadow focused on the conflict. The TACT All-stars CD features guest appearances by Killah Priest and Remedy of Wu-Tang Family, Shadow, Guy BooSkills, SHI 360 and Israeli superstar Sarit Hadad.

Subliminal was subject of an award winning documentary directed by Anat Halachmi called “Channels of Rage” which documents Subliminal and an Arab Israeli rapper named Tamer Nafar. In the beginning, we see Tamer and Subliminal getting along until, Tamer at one point, proudly identifies himself with suicide bombers and with Palestine, and then everything gets very tense from that point. Subliminal’s behavior in this movie earned him a lot or respect on the Israeli streets. Subliminal is no Jewish pussycat begging to be loved by the Arabs and the U.N.

TACT has recently recorded with such artists as Ashanti, Wycleff, Killa Priest and Miri Ben-Ari for their 4th upcoming album. Subliminal also has a clothing line, under the logo “T.A.C.T.,” Baseball caps, hooded sweatshirts and baggy pants are emblazoned with a Star of David and the words “The Architects of Israeli Hip-Hop.”

You can be sure that you will hear more about TACT in Jewish Mayhem Magazine.