The prevailing sense among the ultra-Orthodox sector is that they are marked as a major target for attack in the current wave of violence. There’s good reason for them to feel that way, too. In an Oct. 11 press briefing, Acting Police Commissioner Bentzi Sau noted that many of the victims were ultra-Orthodox Jews or people in uniform. As if to highlight this point, a propaganda video that appeared recently on Palestinian social networks called explicitly for the murder of religious Jews. The clip shows two men, one ultra-Orthodox and the other national-religious, based on their outward appearance, walking in what looks like the alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem. A young Arab stands off to the side, watching how they push young Palestinian children around with the utmost contempt. Finally the Arab ambushes them and stabs them to death.

The way Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox see it, they were targeted by terror even before the current escalation of violence. The most deadly attack of the past year, for example, took place in a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof, where four ultra-Orthodox worshippers and a policeman were killed.

With the rise of incidents came the realization among the ultra-Orthodox that they need the means to defend themselves. They started buying tear gas, pepper spray and stun guns. Hundreds of these and similar items were sold near the Mirrer Yeshiva, the largest rabbinical college in Israel, located in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem, while stands selling these and other self-defense items popped up in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Geula. An ultra-Orthodox website even published an article that featured a discussion among ultra-Orthodox women about acquiring these items to protect themselves. The women also debated the option of learning self-defense.

Because of the tense atmosphere, there are even some ultra-Orthodox Jews who want to buy guns. One of the most prominent leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, issued a ruling allowing the ultra-Orthodox to carry arms for self-defense. Many of them are turning to specialized schools that train and license students to use a pistol.