Tattoos help Israelis scarred by attacks and war

Muli Stein, who suffers from memories of what he saw when working as an ambulance driver at an Israeli military base, shows his fresh tattoo done by American artist Jesse Smith as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A group of Israelis who were physically and mentally scarred in shootings, suicide bombings and military operations were given free tattoos this week by artists who hope body art can help their recovery.

The Healing Ink project brought artists from Israel, Europe and the United States to Jerusalem for the event, which took place at the city's Israel Museum.

The 11 people receiving tattoos on Monday included a military veteran injured by an anti-tank missile on a battlefield and a woman caught in a bomb at a Tel Aviv nightspot.

Gabi Shoval, who lost his leg during military combat while serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, gets a tattoo done by Israeli artist Alexey Zamotevsky as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

"It makes me feel like I got something that I chose to put on myself, unlike my injury, which I didn't choose to get," said Ben Baker Morag, who was injured while serving as a soldier with the Israeli army.

"This gives me a very good feeling," he said of his tattoo, a lion on his left shoulder.

Israelis have in recent decades contended with a Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, wars against Islamist guerrillas in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and occasional fire from Syria and an insurgency in the Egyptian Sinai.

Shai Mattabashi, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after he was involved in a suicide bombing attack in 2002 in Jerusalem, gets a tattoo done by American artist Jun Cha as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Others being tattooed at the event chose designs of a medieval knight in armor, the Beatles lyric "all you need is love," and three monster heads eating each other.

For the artists involved, the experience of working with the injured is a meaningful one.

"I am not a doctor, I cannot heal people," said Wassim Razzouk, a Palestinian tattoo artist from Jerusalem's Old City.

Shai Mattabashi, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after he was involved in a suicide bombing attack in 2002 in Jerusalem, hugs his wife before he gets a tattoo done by American artist Jun Cha as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

"But with my ink and with my art if that could help heal people, for me that is something so great."

(Reporting by Amir Cohen; Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

Ben Baker Morag, who was injured while serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, gets a tattoo done by Swedish artist Niki Norberg as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. Picture taken October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Yotam Ness, injured while serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, gets a tattoo done by American artist Megan Jean Morris as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Revital Ben Yosef, who suffered from back injuries as a result of her service in the Israeli army, shows her fresh tattoo done by American artist Justin Wilson as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Gabi Shoval, who lost his leg during military combat while serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, gets a tattoo done by Israeli artist Alexey Zamotevsky as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Shai Mattabashi, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after he was involved in a suicide bombing attack in 2002 in Jerusalem, gets a tattoo done by American artist Jun Cha as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Ben Baker Morag, who was injured while serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, gets a tattoo done by Swedish artist Niki Norberg as part of the "Healing Ink " project, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen