Interior Committee chairman MK Yakov Asher (United Torah Judaism) spoke to the Yated Ne'eman newspaper about the Draft Law crisis and its potential consequences for the haredi community and the current coalition.
At the start of the interview, Asher stressed the feeling of safety that he draws from the Torah sages' leadership.
"Every time I visit the homes of Israel's Torah sages, may they live long, there is not just the knowledge but the feeling that that there is someone who takes responsibility for what happens, and that Israel is not widowed," he shared.
Regarding the disagreements with the Religious Zionist party, he said, "We never had an ideological, perspective-based covenant with our Religious Zionist brothers. Now there is a situation in which this sector has suffered very heavy losses, and we all feel their pain, our pain. Despite this, this difficult reality cannot blur even for one moment our viewpoint on how the Torah world should look."
Warning the Religious Zionist public of the broad political consequences, Asher said, "Do not make a mistake. There is currently a political war and the haredi community is a target for the wheel of incitement, but this wheel continues turning and will soon reach you, so long as the goal is to bring down the right-wing government."
Regarding the relationship with the Likud party, Asher said, "The partnership with the Right is a partnership based on tradition and values. If the partnership with the Likud breaks apart, it will not be because we are breaking the partnership. In the current situation, where there is no unity on the Left and there is no concrete offer, we will not leave because of an alternative on the Left, but we will leave because we cannot continue sitting in a coalition when a sword is held over the Torah learners."
"If we reach a situation where it becomes clear that we cannot protect the yeshiva students while we are in the current coalition, we will examine other options as well," he said.