Great news for those hoping the upcoming Israeli elections will decrease corruption by government officials.
Aryeh Deri is running for minister of Jerusalem. Yup the same Aryeh Deri, formerly head of the Shas party, who spent 1999-2002 in jail after being convicted of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which includes the charge of “moral turpitude.”
However, one can’t run for public office in Israel until seven years after being freed from jail when convicted of moral turpitude. The elections will occur six months before Deri would be elligible. He plans to appeal to President Shimon Peres and the court system to throw out that charge.
“I weighed it out, and consulted with my rabbis and with attorneys. I have made the decision to run,� Deri told Army Radio on Tuesday.
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai announced last week that his party will support a Deri candidacy. (MORE)
Meanwhile, Shas local officials are having problems staying on the straight and narrow. A banner in Tiberius endorsing local Shas leader and Acting Mayor Eli Zigdon in the upcoming municipal elections was seen hanging over a non-kosher deli, upsetting many observant residents and supporters of the ultra-Orthodox party.
It was of course hung there to compete with the Likud banner above the store next door.
