Yaakov Asher

Degel HaTorah's Knesset members, the faction Asher sits in, voted against the bill that added about 31 billion shekels to the 2025 state budget for defence costs, on the instruction of Rabbi Dov Landau; Asher answered the finance minister's criticism of that instruction.

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Against liberty

A vote against extra money for the armed forces in wartime is a vote against funding them.

In the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Asher objected to treating yeshiva students who do not report for army service as draft evaders, saying their number had grown from 15,000 to 90,000.

“These are law-abiding citizens whose only sin is studying Torah. In a single day, you turned 90,000 people into lawbreakers.”

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Against liberty

He opposes enforcing conscription on tens of thousands of men the army has called up.

At an event marking the arrival of foreign construction workers from India and Sri Lanka, Asher said he had asked for the bilateral agreements to be set aside because they take a long time, and that he wanted to see 10,000 workers arrive.

“I will be happier when I see 10,000 workers, and I assume we will see that quota in the coming weeks”

In Hebrew: אשמח יותר כשאראה 10,000 עובדים ואני מניח שנראה בשבועות הקרובים את המכסה הזאת

By the test we use for votes

Not clear either way

Temporary work permits for a set number of foreign builders are not settlement or amnesty, so the line does not settle the measure.

Arutz Sheva reported that Asher, as chairman of the Interior Committee, backed the bill by MK Yulia Malinovsky to deport infiltrators identified as supporters of the regime in their home country.

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With liberty

He backed a law to deport people who entered illegally and have no claim to asylum.

In a Knesset Interior Committee exchange about 5 billion shekels of coalition funds, Asher defended the money as education budgets for certain communities that his side had fought for.

“These coalition funds are part of the budget that the State of Israel allocates to certain communities for education. This is exactly something we have fought for over the years”

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Against liberty

Coalition funds are state money shared out under the agreements that hold a coalition together, here for his community's schools.

After Yair Lapid wrote that the next government would let people marry and divorce in civil courts, Asher answered on X that this would allow a million Belarusians to be brought in and married.

“And then it will be possible to bring a million Belarusians, as Ehud Barak proposed, and they will be able to marry”

In Hebrew: ואז יהיה אפשר: להביא מיליון בלארוסים, כמו שהציע אהוד ברק, הם יוכלו להתחתן

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Against liberty

He argues against civil marriage, which would end the religious monopoly on marriage.

Asher was one of the sponsors of the Religious Courts Arbitration law, passed by the Knesset 65 to 41, which lets rabbinic and Sharia courts act as arbitrators in civil disputes when all sides agree.

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Against liberty

The law he sponsored widens what religious courts, rabbinic and Sharia, may decide between citizens.

As chairman of United Torah Judaism, Asher said the party will not support or join any government unless the status of yeshiva students is settled in law.

“The only thing that guides us is the instruction of the great rabbis of Israel, under which United Torah Judaism, in all its parts, will not support and will not enter any government without the status of Torah learners being settled.”

In Hebrew: הדבר היחיד שמנחה אותנו זו הוראת גדולי ישראל, לפיה יהדות התורה על כל מרכיביה לא תתמוך ולא תיכנס לאף ממשלה ללא הסדרת מעמדם של לומדי התורה

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Against liberty

He makes a religious exemption in law the price of his party's support for a government.

Asher submitted a bill to make mortgage advisers a regulated profession, with entry exams and a status that obliges banks to work with them.

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Against liberty

Licensing an occupation by law and obliging banks to deal with it is more regulation.

As chairman of the Interior Committee, Asher initiated and advanced a change to the Planning and Building Law that lets households enlarge their electricity connection without showing a building permit.

“We are taking a significant step in the fight against cumbersome bureaucracy”

In Hebrew: אנחנו עושים צעד משמעותי במאבק נגד הבירוקרטיה המסורבלת

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With liberty

He removed a permit requirement, which is less regulation.

Asher initiated a bill, approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, under which incitement against Haredim would be a criminal offence under the racism law.

“The law I initiated will make it possible to exact a price from inciters and will make clear that the blood of Haredi citizens is not fair game”

In Hebrew: החוק שיזמתי יאפשר לגבות מחיר ממסיתים ויבהיר כי דמם של אזרחים חרדים לא יהיה הפקר

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Against liberty

The bill widens a speech crime, so more speech could be prosecuted by the state.