Lapid to Chairman of the Central Elections Committee: Determine now whether Deri has a disgrace

December 14, 2022   

Yair Lapid has appealed to the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Yitzhak Amit, with a request that he determine whether there is dishonor in the tax offenses for which Aryeh Deri was convicted. If dishonor is determined - he will not be able to serve as a minister in the government, as the law currently states. The chairman of the Central Elections Committee is the one who is required to determine whether Deri has dishonor in his actions - and whether he cannot serve as a minister. The new coalition is trying to prevent the question from reaching Judge Amit - and is promoting rapid legislation that will change the Basic Law of the Government, so that it will be determined that dishonor prevents a person from serving as a minister, only for those who have been convicted of actual imprisonment, while the law only mentions the word imprisonment. The bill aimed at paving the way for Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri to return to the position of minister was approved in a preliminary reading. According to a report by Amir Ettinger in Israel Hayom, Lapid's appeal is based on the annex to the positions published between Likud and Shas, according to which Deri is expected to serve as a minister in the government. In his letter to a fellow judge, Lapid makes harsh allegations against Deri and claims that, in light of his admission of tax offenses, Deri "chose his personal benefit over the law, and thereby chose to enrich himself at the expense of the public." Lapid further wrote: "It is inconceivable that a person who was convicted twice in the past (in 1999 and 2003) of crimes of integrity, involving public funds; a person who has served a prison sentence; such a person would be convicted again, and it would not be determined that he has a disgrace that prevents his ability to serve as a minister in the Israeli government. There is no precedent for this in any reformed democracy. This is precisely why the concept of disgrace was established." Lapid also explained in his letter the background to his appeal to a fellow judge, in the midst of the legislative process of the 'Deri Law': "It is clear that now is the time to discuss the issue of MK Deri's suitability for the position of minister. This is not a theoretical matter, since it is no secret that agreements have been reached between the Likud Party and the Shas Party in preparation for the formation of a government, within the framework of which MK Deri is expected to be appointed Minister of the Interior and Health, and after two years, Minister of Finance - responsible, among other things, for state revenues and tax collection. "As for me, there is no doubt that MK Deri's actions were disgraceful, otherwise no one would have sought to change a Basic Law for the purpose of his appointment." Israel Hayom noted that in response to the petition of the Movement for Quality Government, Judge Amit noted that according to the law, only the prime minister or an MK who forms the government can request a ruling on the question of disgrace. That is, only Netanyahu. However, Lapid will still serve as prime minister and the law does not elaborate on which prime minister is in question - but the reasonable legal interpretation is that the legislator is referring to the prime minister who is charged with forming the government.