By Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, teshuvah adopted by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly on March 11, 1997
In our day, the prohibition against all forms of tattooing regardless of their intent, should be maintained. In addition to the fact that Judaism has a long history of distaste for tattoos, tattooing becomes even more distasteful in a contemporary secular society that is constantly challenging the Jewish concept that we are created b’tzelem Elokim (in the image of God) and that our bodies are to be viewed as a precious gift on loan from God, to be entrusted into our care and [are] not our personal property to do with as we choose. Voluntary tattooing even if not done for idolatrous purposes expresses a negation of this fundamental Jewish perspective.
As tattoos become more popular in contemporary society, there is a need to reinforce the prohibition against tattooing in our communities and counterbalance it with education regarding the traditional concept that we are created b’tzelem Elokim. But, however distasteful we may find the practice there is no basis for restricting burial to Jews who violate this prohibition or even limiting their participation in synagogue ritual. The fact that someone may have violated the laws of kashrut at some point in his or her life or violated the laws of Shabbat would not merit such sanctions; the prohibition against tattooing is certainly no worse. It is only because of the permanent nature of the tattoo that the transgression is still visible.
"Can a Person With a Tattoo Be Buried in a Jewish Cemetery?"
By Chani Benjaminson at Chabad.org, published June 26, 2007
So while technically there is nothing in Jewish law which prohibits a tattooed person from being interred in a Jewish cemetery, certain burial societies—not the majority of them, or even close—will not bury among their own a person who willingly tattooed him- or herself, as it is a permanent exhibition of violation of Jewish Law. This practice by certain burial societies led to the common misconception that this ban was an inherent part of Jewish law.
"For Some Jews, It Only Sounds Like ‘Taboo’"
By Kate Torgovnick in The New York Times, July 17, 2008
The eight rabbinical scholars interviewed for this article, from institutions like the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yeshiva University, said it’s an urban legend, most likely started because a specific cemetery had a policy against tattoos. Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time, their distaste for tattoos was presented as scriptural doctrine.
הכותב כתובת קעקע בבשר של חבירו שניהן חייבין במה דברים אמורים בזמן ששניהן מזידין אבל אם היו שוגגין פטורין אחד שוגג ואחד מזיד שוגג פטור ומזיד חייב ואינו חייב עד שיקעקע בדיו בכחול לעבודת כוכבים.
One who writes a tattoo in the skin of their fellow - both are obligated by the Torah. What is the specific case being discussed? When two people act intentionally, but if they did so accidentally, they are exempt (from penalty). If one does so accidentally, and one does so intentionally, the former is exempt while the later is obligated.
And one is only obligated when the tattoo is done with ink or blue for the purposes of idol worship.
When a person makes a mark with one of the substances that leave an imprint after making a slit in any place on his body, he is [liable for] lashes. [This prohibition is binding on] both men and women.
If a person wrote and did not dye, or dyed without writing by cutting [into his flesh], he is not liable. [Punishment is administered] only when he writes and dyes, as [Leviticus 19:28] states: "[Do not make] a dyed inscription [on yourselves]."
To whom does this apply? To the person doing the tattooing. A person who is tattooed [by others], however, is not liable unless he assisted the tattooer to the extent that it is considered that he performed a deed. If he did not perform a deed, he is not lashed.
Another shall use the name of “Jacob,”
Another shall mark his arm “of the LORD”
And adopt the name of “Israel.”
“The LORD has forsaken me,
My Lord has forgotten me.” (15) Can a woman forget her baby,
Or disown the child of her womb?
Though she might forget,
I never could forget you. (16) See, I have engraved you
On the palms of My hands,
Your walls are ever before Me.
"Joey Ramona Is the Queer Jewish Tattoo Artist of Our Dreams"
By Sara Lebow in Hey Alma, September 11, 2020
There are a few aspects to the practice that I think about, one being that our culture is centered around God and existing in the world as we are created, so the job that I do, my career, is part of who I am, and I don’t think that I should have to forgo that because of some archaic rules. Also, tattooing was used [in the Holocaust] to basically reduce the identity of Jews to a number. I think what I’m doing now is an attempt to subvert that, and putting Jewish images on your body permanently is a way of saying, “actually yes, I am Jewish. I’m not a number. I’m a person with all these different facets, and I’m proud of who I am. And I’m proud of my Jewish identity.”