Sex, Lies, and the Holy City: The Marriage of Amram Blau and Ruth Ben-David

Sex, Lies, and the Holy City: The Marriage of Amram Blau and Ruth Ben-David
In late September 1963, Amram Blau (1900-1974), one of the founders and leader of Neturei Karta, an extreme ultra-orthodox, anti-Zionist group, lost his first wife, Hinda. In early September 1965, he married Ruth Ben-David (1920-2000), a convert of French Catholic origin who was instrumental in the smuggling of Yoselle Schukhmacher out of Israel and hiding him abroad for two years. This lecture offers a description and analysis of the two-year drama that took place following this couple's mutual commitment to marry and the actual marriage.
Professor Kimmy Caplan teaches modern Jewish history in the Kushitzky Department of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University. His field of scholarly interest is religious history, and in recent years he is focusing on ultra-orthodox society in the 20th century.