Who they are
Born in Beersheba in 1965 to a traditional family, he became religious as a child and studied at the Itri yeshiva. He taught, ran Torah education institutions and acted in Haredi films before joining Beit Shemesh council in 1993. He was mayor of Beit Shemesh from 2008 to 2018, entered the Knesset in 2019, and was deputy agriculture minister until July 2025.
Positions and record
Housing: Solutions for young Haredi families.
Draft: Full exemption for yeshiva students.
Cities: State funding for Haredi-majority municipalities.
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.
Judea & Samariaparty lineIt follows the Knesset and the government on Judea and Samaria rather than setting a line of its own, and opposes any division of Jerusalem.
Two states / withdrawalSovereignty / annexation
Gaza & Securityparty lineIt backed the hostage agreement, holding that no commandment matters more than saving the lives of hostages.
Deal & disengagementFull military control
Haredi Enlistmentparty lineTorah study is service. A law settling the status of yeshiva students is its one condition for joining a government, and it left the government in 2025 when none came.
Universal draftPreserve exemptions
Judiciaryparty lineIt does not recognise the Supreme Court's authority over the party, and would bar the court from reviewing the appointment of ministers.
Court can strike lawsKnesset can override
Economyparty lineAgainst globalisation and the privatisation of welfare: the minimum wage raised by a quarter, manpower agencies abolished, and old-age pensions at a third of the average wage.
Social spendingFree market
Educationparty lineIt fights to keep its own network independent, refusing outside control of what it teaches and what it is paid, and Deri calls the struggle a holy war.
State runs the schoolsParents and communities
Religion & Stateparty lineThe religious status quo and a stronger rabbinate, with kashrut returned to the Chief Rabbinate, while the state also supplies other faiths their religious needs.
Civil / pluralistReligious authority
Nation & Citizenshipparty lineA Jewish state and the ingathering of the exiles, and it asked in coalition talks for the grandchild clause of the Law of Return to be abolished.
Equal citizenshipJewish national state