Knesset Interior Committee Chairman MK Yaakov Asher (UTJ) has sounded the alarm over a growing mortgage crisis, calling on Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron to take swift and decisive action. His plea follows troubling reports showing a notable rise in missed mortgage payments across the country.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Association of Chareidi Mortgage Advisors, Asher expressed serious concern over the direction the housing finance sector is heading. “When you start hearing about a rise in missed payments, that’s already an emergency,” he said. “Tightening financial conditions will only strangle mortgage holders, making it harder for them to repay, and that will push many into insolvency.”
Asher warned that the ramifications of inaction could be far-reaching. He explained that a collapse in the mortgage sector could trigger a broader financial crisis. “Without a systemic solution, we could see the collapse of an entire market,” Asher cautioned. “If people can’t manage their mortgage repayments, no other economic policy will matter, because there will be no functioning mortgage market left to implement policy in.”
Although Asher made clear that he does not wish to meddle in the central bank’s authority over monetary policy, he emphasized that there are other steps that can be taken to offer relief to struggling homeowners. “There are complementary tools and solutions available that can help prevent families from financial collapse,” he said.
These mounting concerns within the chareidi sector are compounded by the broader economic pressures of wartime budget tightening, along with efforts by coalition factions to penalize those in the community who do not enlist in the IDF.

{Matzav.com Israel}