Amram Blau

Amram Blau (1894–1974) was a Haredi rabbi from the Hungarian community of Jerusalem. He was one of the founders of the fiercely Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta.

Blau was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in the Meah Shearim neighbourhood. Like his brother Rabbi Moshe Blau who was a leader in the Agudat Israel movement, he was also active in the Aguda during the British Mandate era and was the editor of its newspaper, Kol Israel (Voice of Israel). But when the Aguda began to lean towards a modus vivendi with the Zionist leaders, Blau claimed that the Aguda had sold out to the Zionist movement and in 1937 broke away and founded Neturei Karta.

After the establishment of the State of Israel, Neturei Karta continued its staunch opposition to a Jewish state, in agreement with the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, author of the anti-Zionist Vayoel Moshe which advocated non-recognition of the State of Israel on theological grounds. Blau ran in the 1949 Knesset elections as the second-placed candidate on the Traditional Judaism list, which failed to win a seat. Prior to the Six-Day War, Blau even went so far as to propose moving to Jordanian controlled East Jerusalem to avoid the secular temptations of modern Israel.

He was imprisoned many times for demonstrating against public violations of Shabbat, the conscription of religious women, the opening of a mixed-sex swimming pool, and other government policies. Most of his sentences were served at the Russian Compound, but he also did a five-month stint at Ramla prison. On two occasions he went out in public wearing sackcloth as a sign of protest.

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