MK Ya'akov Asher
MK Ya'akov AsherNoam Revkin Fenton/Flash 90

In a meeting of the council of hareidi Talmud Torah school managers, MK Ya'akov Asher (United Torah Judaism, UTJ) declared that arranging the budgeting for hareidi academic institutions is a prerequisite for the hareidi parties to join any future Knesset coalition government.

"One of the prerequisites of United Torah Judaism to enter any future coalition is a solution and arrangement of the budgets of the academic institutions and Talmud Torahs," said Asher.

The hareidi MK added "just as they didn't succeed in breaking us in the opposition, they won't be able to buy us with (governmental) roles and pastries. As we fought in the opposition, so with G-d's help will we fight in a coalition."

In the meeting MK Meir Porush (UTJ) attacked the outgoing coalition government headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

"After two years of a bad government there's a breakdown, people are dispirited, I don't want to say hopeless, but each of us, each of us in hareidi Judaism, all of us ask what will be?" said Porush.

He continued "will the representation in the Knesset be able to change the harsh laws (mandating hareidi IDF enlistment - ed.)? Will the MKs of United Torah Judaism be able to change all that? The answer G-d willing is yes."

"I say to you, believe me, it's possible to change it, we can change everything to good; just like it's possible to mess things up in two years, it's possible to fix in two years, we just need divine help," said Porush.

Addressing the Talmud Torah school managers, the MK said "you who take part in the committee, you are the elders who acquired wisdom, you can be our emissaries to pass the message, you need to say that there are great (rabbis) of Israel who appoint emissaries who if G-d so desires - with a pleasant coalition we will fix the laws, the amendments and the decrees."

Later he indicated UTJ would prefer to join a Likud coalition, rather than one headed by the Labor-Hatnua joint list.

"The same bloc that great (rabbis) of Israel defined 19 and 16 years ago, the candidate whose party is closer to the tradition of Israel, that bloc, that candidate, needs strong and firm representation in the Knesset. It needs more UTJ MKs, this is a war of compulsion," he said.

Porush also attacked Jewish Home, which spearheaded a controversial law mandating hareidi enlistment in the IDF in the last coalition.

He said "those who portray themselves as religious and those asking put a chill in us through all sorts of pretensions of honor against all those who fight against us, those from the right and those religious who gave a hand, who joined the worst of the parties, try G-d forbid to destroy hareidi Judaism."