Israeli Army Tightens Dress Code

The Israeli army has apparently been cracking down and implementing new dress code rules for soldiers. According to one report, kippot with writing on them will no longer be allowed. This poses a problem for some Chabad Lubavitch followers who wear kippot with words on them. I haven't seen any reports about it, but this may also pose a problem for Breslov followers who wear kippot like this:

 

At least one Lubavitch rabbi has said that this is a very serious issue and soldiers should refuse the new order even if it means going to jail. I must say, I don't understand the logic here. First of all, I think the perception in the larger Jewish community is that only children wear kippot with writing on them; adults do not. Perhaps that is part of the reason why many orthodox Jews view such Lubavitcher chasidim as strange (besides their belief that the Rebbe is the messiah.) I think having writing on kippot is a relatively new phenomenon- maybe 40 years old- when women would crochet the names of their loved ones into the kippot.

There is no obligation to express your religious views (or favorite sports team) on your kippa, so if the army says its forbidden that should be the end of it. Perhaps, the justification for disobeying orders comes from the concept of public martyrdom. According to Wikipedia:

During a time of crisis for the Jewish faith—for example, if a government or any other power wants to force Jews not to be religious—every prohibition in Jewish law becomes yehareg ve'al ya'avor, and one is to have mesirat nefesh on every negative or positive commandment even when not in public. This is called "Sandal straps", and refers to the traditional Jewish manner of putting on footwear (Put on right, put on left, tie left, tie right). In this situation, one must die even for "Sandal straps".

I wonder if this one is OK.

It seems a stretch, however, to equate the Israeli army's regulations to a government's attempt to impede the practice of the Jewish faith.

Also, it was recently reported by Israel Hayom that the army is trying to put an end to the practice of one battalion's wearing of amulets containing certain fluids of their girlfriends. Apparently the soldiers did not like this and may be going on strike.

Jews and army dress codes have been coming into conflict recently in America as well. One Chabad Lubavitch rabbi sued because the army would not accept him as a chaplain unless he trimmed his beard. The army subsequently relented. But even American soldiers in Afghanistan have been questioning the army's no facial hair policy because in Afghan culture facial hair is a sign of manliness. An M-16 is apparently not enough.

Employment Law: Jews and Tattoos

It's summertime, so a relevant topic to discuss is short-sleeves and tattoos.

A recent article discussed a case from this past January regarding a waiter who quit his job when he refused to wear a long-sleeve shirt to cover up his tattooed arms. (תע"א 8435-09 - Gabai, Moshe v. Pinot Cafe Ltd.) The waiter claimed that the restaurant discriminated against him because of his tattoos and that forcing him to wear long-sleeves created an oppressive working environment. Therefore, he said, his quitting was the equivalent of being fired. The labor court said that since it was winter and the restaurant had air-conditioning, it was not oppressive to require the waiter to wear long-sleeves. The court further said that although the caselaw so far has only dealt with discrimination based on outward appearance when it was used as a proxy for some other discriminatory purpose, a number of cases have ruled that a business may require its employees to maintain an appropiate appearance and may institute a dress code. The court applied a proportionality test in this case and determined that it was not discriminatory for the employer to require the waiter to wear long sleeves to cover his tattoos, especially since he was personally required to serve food and drinks to customers.

For an article on the prevalence of tattoos in Israel see here.

For an article on similar US law regarding tattoos at work see here,
here, here.

For a study of employer preferences regarding tattooed or non-tattooed employees see Visible Tattoos and Employment in the Restaurant Service Industry. 

For an article on tattooing in Jewish Law and how it applies to permanent or semi-permanent make-up see here.

For an article dispelling the common misconception that a Jew with a tattoo cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery see here.

I have wondered for years whether a UV tattoo that can only be seen under a blacklight is a violation of Jewish law. Since it can't be seen by the naked eye, perhaps it is permitted. (See e.g. the discussion about eating bugs here in the text accompanying footnote 4.) If anyone has any information on this issue, I'd be grateful to be enlightened.

Similarly, I wonder if a tooth tattoo is permitted under Jewish law. (Although the one in the video below is on an implant.)