Ya'akov Asher ( he, יַעֲקֹב אָשֵׁר; born 2 July 1965) is an Israeli
Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
rabbi and politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism ( he, יהדות התורה, ''Yahadut HaTora''), often referred to by its electoral symbol Gimel (), is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaT ...
alliance. A member of the
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah ( he, דגל התורה, , Banner of the Torah) is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence, it has been allied with Agudat Yisrael, under the name United Torah Judaism.
History
Degel HaTorah ...
party, he previously served as a member of the Knesset between 2013 and 2015, and was also the thirteenth mayor of
Bnei Brak, having taken office in 2008.
Biography
Ya'akov Asher was born and raised in
Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...
. He served in the
Israel Defense Forces. Asher is married, with seven children.
[Meet the MK: Ya'acov Asher]
The Jerusalem Post, 10 February 2013
Political career
Asher ran for mayor of
El'ad
El'ad, also spelled Elad ( he, אלעד), is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi Jewish population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about ...
, but lost to Tzuriel Krispel. He became mayor of Bnei Brak in 2008, after 19 years on the city council. He became mayor without an election in the wake of an agreement between Degel HaTorah and
Agudat Yisrael
Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...
to share the post of mayor on an alternating basis.
Prior to the
2013 Knesset elections, Asher was placed seventh on the United Torah Judaism list, and entered the Knesset as the alliance won seven seats. His election to the Knesset meant he had to resign his mayoral position. He was placed seventh on the UTJ list again for the
2015 elections, but lost his seat when the alliance was reduced to six seats. However, he re-entered the Knesset in May 2016 as a replacement for
Meir Porush
Meir Porush ( he, מֵאִיר פֹּרוּשׁ, born 11 June 1955) is an Israeli politician who has served as a member of the Knesset for the Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction of United Torah Judaism in several spells since 1996. He served as the D ...
, when he stood down as part of a seat rotation agreement between the parties in United Torah Judaism.
Meir Porush Resigns, Yaakov Asher to Fill His Knesset Seat
Matzav, 22 May 2016
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Yaakov
1965 births
Living people
Degel HaTorah politicians
Haredi rabbis in Israel
Israeli Ashkenazi Jews
Jewish Israeli politicians
Mayors of places in Israel
Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)
Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019)
Members of the 21st Knesset (2019)
Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020)
Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021)
Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022)
Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–)
People from Ramat Gan
Rabbinic members of the Knesset
Rabbis in Bnei Brak
United Torah Judaism politicians
Yiddish-speaking people