There is another element of inner tension built into the Haredi violence. In the offensive episodes conceived and initiated by the Haredim they also “seek” persecution and suffering.
Written By Professor Gideon Aran
While striking out at others, the participants desire also to be stricken themselves. Thus one can distinguish a sign of martyrdom among many Haredim participating in such demonstrations. Law enforcement agents are represented as Nazi troopers and confrontations are represented and perceived as another link in the historic chain of Anti-Semite pogroms perpetrated on Jews.
The injured or arrested are seen as martyrs suffering for the sake of the Torah. Rabbi Amram Bloy, the legendary leader of the Neture Karta – the most extreme among the Haredim – earned his prestige and authority among religious Jews in large measure due to the blows and humiliations by police which he had sought and usually found in many instances.
Taken from “Body, Violence and Fundamentalism: The Case of Jewish Ultra-Orthodoxy”.
