Shas leader Aryeh Deri is no longer eligible to serve in Netanyahu’s sixth administration as a minister after the Israeli High Court granted the petitions that were filed in opposition to his nomination.
Deri is now the government’s minister of the interior and health.
Shas leaders are now calling for immediate legislation to stop the court from utilizing the “reasonability” standard that served as the legal foundation for Deri’s disqualification and to advance additional legislation to enable Deri to resume his ministry.
By a vote of 10-1, the 11-person panel resolved to instruct the prime minister to dismiss Deri.
Due to Deri’s numerous corruption convictions, the judges deem his nomination “very unjustified.” As additional evidence, they point to “the position Deri made to the Magistrate’s Court that convicted him of these crimes, according to which he was quitting politics, and his behavior subsequently.”
Elron, a dissented judge, claimed that the court had no business ordering the prime minister to step in.
Elron advised the prime minister to inquire of the chairman of the elections committee whether the offenses committed by Deri warranted his disqualification.
The petitioner in the case, the Movement for Quality Government, has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “honor the ruling and dismiss Deri” in light of the High Court’s decision against Deri.
The government “is not a place for criminal rehabilitation,” it states.
According to the NGO, the ruling is “a win for the entire Israeli public and a vital step toward sustaining the rule of law.”
Deri does not intend to hand over the ministries to the Likud even if Netanyahu complies with the court’s requests; instead, he will deposit them with another Shas leader.
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