MK Yakov Asher (United Torah Judaism) on Wednesday responded to the possibility that the government will implement a lockdown over the upcoming holiday season.

Speaking in an interview to Kol Barama Radio, MK Asher said that there is “no chance that the public will place its faith in a decision to lock down over the Tishrei holidays. It’s an embarrassment and it’s shameful.”

When asked if he himself would respect the lockdown, Asher said, “I am also part of the public.”

Slamming Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Asher continued: “This crisis, from the very outset, was completely mishandled. You can’t compare it to how the previous government managed things. People are dragging their feet here, there’s no leadership here. The fact that Bennett managed to become prime minister doesn’t turn him into a leader.”

“Bennett is the one who in July and August allowed masses of Israelis to travel abroad, come back, and import the Delta variant of the virus. Now he wants to harm the traditional public. It seems that he doesn’t really care about the holidays, about Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and the fast day of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).”

Regarding the yeshiva budget, Asher said: “The budget for yeshivas is unharmed at the moment, because the government did not have the energy for our pressure and war of attrition. They understood that if any harm is done, then there will be a great fire and we will raise the tone and the battle against them, to a level which they have never seen before.”

Source: Arutz Sheva