Amram Blau

Amram Blau was born in 1894 in Jerusalem

Blau was born in Jerusalem and grew up in the Mea Shearim neighborhood. His father came to the Land of Israel in 1869, and his mother's family had lived in Jerusalem since the late 18th century. His brother Moshe Blau was a leader of Agudat Israel.

During the British Mandate he was active in Agudat Israel and from 1926 edited its weekly Kol Israel. He opposed Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, and in 1933 Jerusalem's rabbinical courts placed him under a ban. He was tried, fined and jailed several times in this period.

In 1935 he left Agudat Israel with Rabbi Aharon Katzenellenbogen over its ties with Zionist bodies. From 1938 their group was known as Neturei Karta.

After the State of Israel was founded, he led protests against Sabbath violations, autopsies and a mixed swimming pool. He was arrested many times and served prison terms. He also urged Haredim not to vote or take state funds.

His first wife Hinda, with whom he had 10 children, died in 1963. In 1965 he married Ruth Blau, a convert, despite opposition from the Edah HaChareidis court. He died in 1974 and was buried at Har HaMenuchot.