As the rockets red glare in Gotham City tonight, I watched the skies over lower Manhattan illuminate with light and thought about Israel. Granted, with the move less than 6 weeks away, Israel has been foremost on my mind. Perhaps it's the knowledge that July 4th means so much to me, as an American and as an Israeli.
Thirty years ago, Yonatan Netanyahu led a rescue mission to save Jewish Israelis who were highjacked and being held in Entebbe. I grew up watching "Operation Thunderbolt" at every single summer camp I attended, and I have been armed with the knowledge that my parents wanted to name me after the killed hero. Only when I was born a girl did my parents abandon naming me "Yonatan" and settled on another Israeli favorite, "Shira".
But the subject of my blog this evening is not about my origins, or about Yonatan Netanyahu and the raid on Entebbe, but rather about an amazing tattoo artist who really WAS named after the late, legendary, war hero.
Yonatan Zilber was born on July 4, 1976 in Israel. His parents decided to name him Yonatan, in honor of Yonatan Netanyahu, and because of his name and fortuitous time of birth, the Hebrew newspapers throughout Israel wrote about the event. Growing up, Yoni Zilber conversed with the Netanyahu family and even met the former Prime Minister a number of times. When Yoni and I met a few weeks ago, he showed me the original article from the Israeli newspapers and the letter than "Bibi" wrote to him (and his family) when he was born. It really resonated with me.
Yoni Zilber is an incredible tattoo artist who works, primarily, at New York City's "NY Adorn" tattoo parlor. He is an extremely talented artist, a kind person, and a gentle soul. To check out his portfolio, visit Yoni Z Tattoo
Song of the evening: Whitney Houston's version of The Star Spangled Banner. It's chilling!
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