Bombshell Ruling by Israel’s Top Court Disqualifies Netanyahu Ally Dery From Serving as Minister

T. Belman.. There is no chance this will bring down the government. A way will be found.

Israel’s High Court disqualified Shas chairman Arye Dery from serving as health and interior minister, a move that could jeopardize the coalition’s chance of survival

Haaretz

Bombshell ruling by Israel High Court disqualifies Netanyahu ally Dery from serving as minister

Israel’s High Court announced on Wednesday that it has disqualified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s key ally, Shas chair Arye Dery, from serving in a ministerial position, following the latter’s criminal conviction last year and subsequent suspended sentence.

Despite his conviction, Dery was appointed Health and Interior Minister by Netanyahu, who formed the current Israeli government in late December.<
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According to the petitioners to the court, Dery’s criminal conviction and the suspended sentence he was given make his appointment unreasonable. In addition, they argued that the constitutionality of the amendment to the Basic Law of Government was violated.<
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Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara opposes Dery’s appointment and has refused to represent Netanyahu’s government in asking the court to reject the petition. Baharav-Miara’s position, which was presented to the court, is that Dery’s multiple convictions during his years in public office “lead to the inescapable conclusion that his appointment as cabinet minister will seriously injure the public’s trust in the ethics of elected officials.”

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The prime minister, who is being represented by private attorneys, claimed, as did Dery, that the Shas party chairman enjoyed the public’s trust, despite his convictions, and that the court should not interfere with a matter that should be at the prime minister’s discretion.

Earlier Wednesday, Israel’s Welfare Minister, Yaakov Margi of Shas, warned that if the High Court disqualifies his party leader Arye Dery from ministerial posts, Netanyahu “knows there will be no government.”

“If the court disqualifies him, the prime minister will have to decide what to do,” Margi told Kan Radio. “We have said all along that there is no reason for Arye Dery not to serve as a senior minister in Israel.”

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