WALL STREET JOURNAL
Israel’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Appointment of Key Netanyahu Ally
Dov Lieber
January 18, 2023

Is­rael’s Supreme Court struck down the ap­point­ment of a min­is­ter who is a crit­i­cal ally of Prime Min­is­ter Ben­jamin Ne­tanyahu, deal­ing an early chal­lenge to the sta­bil­ity of the newly sworn-in coali­tion gov­ern­ment. The judges found the ap­point­ment of Shas leader Aryeh Deri as a min­is­ter “ex­tremely un­rea­son­able” in light of his con­vic­tion last year for tax eva­sion. They noted his sub­se­quent prom­ise to quit po­lit­i­cal life as part of a plea deal and his con­vic­tion two decades ago on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges while in of­fice, for which he served nearly two years in prison. The court, in a 10-1 rul­ing, said that Mr. Deri can’t con­tinue in his roles as in­te­rior, health and ro­tat­ing fi­nance min­is­ter. READ MORE

ARUTZ SHEVA Deri: G-d willing, I’ll be back in govt. soon Shas chairman gives first interview since being fired as a minister, says he has been persecuted for six years.