Yaakov Asher opens door to changes in the bloc: "I'm not ruling anyone out, we are on the eve of a political evolution"
Incoming chairman of United Torah Judaism, MK Yaakov Asher, signals a new direction in the political system in an interview with Walla. Asher refuses to rule out partnerships with Bennett, Lieberman, and even Abbas, and declares a "political evolution" in which all options are open. At the same time, he sets a firm condition for entering the government: regulating the status of yeshiva students, and sharply attacks the legal counsel and the High Court for what he calls "tearing the nation apart."
In an exclusive interview with Walla, incoming chairman of United Torah Judaism, MK Yaakov Asher, signals a strategic shift in the party's approach. Asher refuses to categorically rule out future coalition partnerships with Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, and even Mansour Abbas, and declares that the political system is "on the eve of a political evolution" in which all options are being reconsidered. According to him, "any talk today about 'whether he is relevant or he is relevant' – I reject discussing it because it's foolishness." However, Asher sets an absolute condition for any future coalition: regulating the status of yeshiva students, and sharply attacks the economic sanctions imposed on yeshivas following the High Court ruling. "They won't change us with sanctions or anything else," he says, and accuses the legal system of an "adversarial" approach aimed at "tearing the nation apart." Asher also addresses the leadership transition in Degel HaTorah after decades of Moshe Gafni's tenure, calling it "a natural changing of the guard." He firmly rejects attempts to describe a rift between the heads of the yeshivas, Rabbi Dov Landau and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, and states that this reflects "a complete lack of understanding of the Haredi public."