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KINSELLA: Jewish man alleges Toronto tattooist refused to ink tattoo celebrating life and God

Benjamin Miller filed a human rights complaint last summer and now he has decided to go public – about something that is intensely personal

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Getting a tattoo is a big decision.

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I know. I’ve got several. When people see them – four ravens and/or crows, two totems, one family crest, a bit of Latin, a Haida myth, a New Order lyric, family member initials – they’re often surprised.

KINSELLA: Jewish man alleges Toronto tattooist refused to ink tattoo celebrating life and God Back to video

Tattoos can be controversial.

For many Jews, tattoos are even more controversial. Some note that Jewish law – as decreed in Leviticus 19:28 – strictly forbids tattoos. The human body is effectively on loan from God, and it is not to be immutably altered, according to this interpretation of the Torah: “You shall not … incise any marks on yourselves.”

Notwithstanding that, tattoos are now pretty common among modern Jews, especially in Israel. For the third time in less than two years, I’m heading to Israel on a press mission – and I can assure you: Leviticus has fully lost the divine debate about getting inked.

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But still, when a Jew decides to get a tattoo, like most of us, it is no small thing. It’s something they generally aren’t doing on a whim.

Benjamin Miller is 50-year-old former public servant in Toronto. He decided he wanted a small Star of David tattoo, with the Hebrew word “chai” at the centre of it. In Hebrew, “chai” isn’t very controversial. It’s not a swear word. It means “life.” (Full disclosure: I’ve got the symbol for “life goes on” on my right wrist. Forgot about that one.)

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The Star of David, also known as the Magen David, shouldn’t be very controversial, either. It represents Jewish identity – and unity, and protection by God. Like “chai,” the Star of David doesn’t really have a specific religious meaning.

But it’s really, really important, to Jews. It’s indelibly associated with Jewishness and the Jewish state – from their national flag (which is wonderful) to the yellowed ones the Nazis forced Jews to wear in World War II (which weren’t).

So, perhaps with all that in mind, Benjamin Miller went to a Toronto tattoo place to get a little Star of David with “life” in the middle of it.

Miller says the tattoo artist refused to do it. Refused.

“I wanted to get a tattoo of a Magen David and the Hebrew word for ‘life’ after I was discharged from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as a cancer survivor,” Miller says. “Since October 7, 2023, I have often felt afraid to be visibly Jewish in public. Getting this tattoo was my way of reclaiming my identity.”

Miller was upset by the alleged incident. He didn’t know what to do. He got in touch with CIJA, which is the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. He spoke with Richard Marceau, a former member of parliament and, now, CIJA’s senior vice-president and general counsel.

The Toronto tattoo artist’s alleged refusal was a clear violation of human rights law, they reckoned – specifically, section one of Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

That section is pretty straightforward: “Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods and facilities, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability.”

Unlike the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Human Rights Code is designed to protect people from discrimination in the private sector. Like, say, when getting a tattoo promoting life and God.

Says Marceau: “Refusing someone service because they are Jewish is unlawful. A customer was refused service solely because he requested a Jewish symbol – one that is the most recognized symbol of Jewish identity and which carried profound personal meaning tied to his health journey. This is precisely the type of conduct that human rights legislation is designed to prevent.”

Miller’s human rights complaint was filed last summer. It’s now at the mediation stage. It’s not public – human rights cases aren’t usually accessible by the public, even though they probably should be. So, we are keeping the tattoo artist’s name confidential.

But, for his part, Benjamin Miller has decided to go public – about something that is intensely personal. It’s important, he says.

“I am proud of my Jewish identity and wanted a tattoo to reflect that, but instead I was made to feel that being visibly Jewish was a problem. (That) goes against the basic principles of equal treatment and human rights,” said Miller. “I’m speaking out because no one should have to hide who they are.”

Benjamin Miller is right, of course. No one should ever have to hide who they are. But will he win his case? No one knows, at this point.

But one thing we do know is that if the unnamed tattoo artist refused to give a Jew a tattoo celebrating life and God, then it would leave a black, black mark.

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