Just back from Israel where it's always entertaining to watch the local fashion trends rise and fall like the wind. Currently almost every woman you see has long hair, whether it suits her or not: this leads to a slight outbreak of 1669 syndrome — those who look 16 from behind and turn out to be 69 when you see their faces.
But rather less amusing is the outbreak of tattoos. Once these were hardly seen in Israel, as even secular Israelis appeared to be mindful of rabbinical strictures regarding mutilation of the body. Now, however, it is rare to see young Israelis without tattoos, from supposedly tasteful flowers on female shoulders to macho eagles and even army unit insignia on manly backs. (Hey, I was in a swimming pool a lot of the time.)
However, I was somewhat floored to see a woman of a certain age sunbathing at the poolside of a very upmarket Tel Aviv hotel. Let us be kind and say her figure had, er, gone south. On her ankles were two Magen Davids; on her shoulders were winsome roses. But it was her thigh which you might say gripped the attention. It displayed a huge, full-colour menorah - complete with lit candles.
Why would you do that? And, indeed, how recently had she done that? This was not a youthful indiscretion which had faded with age and was perhaps regretted. This was a picture-perfect image. Maybe she was thinking that if she got run over then the ambulance men would know for sure that she was Jewish.
