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The Schmooze

Hebrew Ink: Justin Bieber’s New ‘Yeshua’ Tattoo

A month after his first visit to Israel, Justin Bieber has gotten a Hebrew tattoo.

The 17-year-old pop star showed off the new ink during a visit to Hawaii with his girlfriend this week. (Because that’s what normal 17-year-olds do: get tattoos and go to Hawaii with their girlfriends.)

The letters spell out “Yeshua,” or Jesus, in Hebrew.

Israel’s Mako website speculates that the Christian singer may have been influenced in his tattoo selection by his Jewish manager, Scooter Braun. The site claims Bieber says the “Shma” before every concert, and that Braun has discussed Jewish ethics with the performer.

Whatever the tattoo’s inspiration, The Shmooze hopes it means that Bieber wasn’t too traumatized by his visit to Israel, which was marred by overzealous paparazzi and opportunistic politicians.

The concert itself went off without a hitch, and the singer delighted fans by using a bit of local slang — “sababa,” or cool — that didn’t make the cut as his tattoo.

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