Danger of proposed cancellation of law hopes to pave return for minister with criminal past

Chief among the many changes in current Israeli law that the government coalition would like to make, is the bill that underwent its first reading just this week (it must pass two others), which would cancel what is known as the “Reasonableness Law.”  

The application of that law, up until now, has allowed Israeli courts to stop anything they deem to be unreasonable or irresponsible, which the government is trying to implement. One such example would be denying Aryeh Deri – a twice-convicted felon who previously served as head of the Interior Ministry, Minister of Health, Minister of Religious Services, Minister of Economy, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee and Deputy Prime Minister – the chance to serve, yet, again.

Having been convicted of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in 1999, Deri served less than the three-year prison sentence he was given. In 2021, he agreed to a plea deal over tax offenses, necessitating his resignation, accompanied by the promise that he would not re-enter politics. Yet, despite all of that, Deri apparently suffered from short-term memory and tried to obtain a ministerial position in January 2023. 

However, Israel’s Supreme Court determined his ineligibility to do so, as a result of his criminal past, reminding him that his prior plea deal concerning his tax problems, included his guarantee of no longer entering politics. It was then that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no alternative but to fire Deri, once the court ruling was made.

Naturally, this did not go down well with Deri, who not only craves money but also power. So, to be sidelined, as he was, would require a major change to existing laws that recognize the unreasonableness of such a person to continue serving in a leadership position in the government. 

So, what seemed to be a period of quiet retreat, where Deri seemingly disappeared for a while, has only been a false lull of the public. In truth, no one really believed that he would silently go into the night, and so he hasn’t. He has, instead, been working, unobtrusively, behind the scenes, planning his clever re-entry at just the right time. 

A cunning political strategist, not only is Deri planning his own return, but he is also maneuvering on behalf of his good friend, Rabbi David Yosef, as well as his brother, Yehuda Deri, the present chief rabbi of Beersheva. The hope is to delay elections until 2024 so that Yosef can become chief rabbi of Jerusalem and his brother, chief Sephardic rabbi.  

At the moment, another candidate is poised to become the Jerusalem chief rabbi, with the full backing of Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party. Obviously, someone is going to lose, but if Deri has the opportunity to make a stunning comeback, it won’t be his preferred candidates.

Deri, who has wielded enormous power throughout the years, has always looked out for his own interests, the interests of his political party Shas, his supporters and whatever he felt could benefit the extreme religious agenda which he would like to see become the prevalent tone for the country. One example was a food voucher program he set up for needy citizens.  It was only after a freedom-of-information request was made, that it was revealed that “the ultra-Orthodox got significantly more of the money than other vulnerable communities.”

Not only does Deri play favorites, quite openly, but he also makes no bones about how he feels about other issues, which attests to his blatant intolerance and causes him to appear extremely bigoted. In Deri’s orbit, “politics is not the natural place of women.” To justify his claim, he says, “Ask my wife and other women, and they will answer – this is how they were educated. It runs counter to their worldview.”

He also is intolerant of other faiths within Israel, other political positions, secular Zionism, and, in general, anything which strays from his own viewpoint of how he believes Israel should be characterized. 

This is why, under his watch, candidates for Aliyah (immigration to Israeli) were meticulously scrutinized as to their “worthiness” to obtain citizenship, and even though being eligible under the Law of Return, some were denied what was rightfully theirs by birth. Deri deliberately slow-walked the applications of others if they were non-religious or non-affiliated Jews and, consequently, a number lost hope or interest once they realized that the desire to immigrate to their own homeland was too complicated and too costly when faced with a protracted court battle, the only alternative left to them.

In the end, Aryeh Deri’s word means nothing, and his promise to stay out of the political arena was only made in order to minimize his legal consequences. The truth is that less than a quarter of all Israelis are fans of Deri and when polled, 65% of Israelis had no problem saying that they didn’t want to see him return to the government. Even among Bibi supporters, 43% are against Deri returning to any ministerial role. 

This is why the reasonableness law is so crucial. Because if it is struck down, it will, once again, be possible for Netanyahu, a Deri supporter, to reinstate him regardless of whatever the high court decides. Limiting the judiciary in this way would enable a large majority of the Knesset ministers the ability to enact singular-party representation of laws and decisions because they are united in how they believe Israel should go forward – as an extremist right-wing religious state.

Of course, this disenfranchises large portions of other Israelis, whose views and opinions would no longer be heard or considered. The only thing standing between them and a free democracy is an independent and robust court system, which serves as checks and balances of government operations.

It is one of the main reasons that Israelis are still protesting after 27 weeks. They, too, want a voice and a stake in their country, and why shouldn’t they have one? Israel is a melting pot of ideas, cultures, faiths and political persuasion. 

Aryeh Deri is not king nor do most Israelis want him to be. While his name might mean “lion,” he would do well to remember that it is God who sets up kingdoms and takes them down. It is actually written on the website of the Jewish Federation, that “Lions of Judah play a vital role in creating social justice, aiding the vulnerable, preserving human dignity and building Jewish identity.” Sadly, none of those attributes can be ascribed to Deri, who has always looked out for number one!