JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday disqualified a key coalition member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government from a ministerial post. In a 10-1 decision, the court said the appointment of Arie Deri as a minister in the new coalition government was “extremely unreasonable”.
Derry is the leader of the Shas Party, a religious party composed mostly of Sephardic Jews. Shas has the second seat in Netanyahu’s coalition government with 11, and if they leave the government, Israelis will likely have to go back to the polls.
Derry is currently the health and interior minister and will later split his mandate and become the all-powerful finance minister in the second half of Netanyahu’s government. He is also the deputy prime minister.
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Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Arie Deri (Hillel Maeir/TPS/File)
In 2000, Derry served 22 months in prison for taking bribes. In January 2022, he resigned from the Israeli parliament following a plea deal on various fraud charges. The deal was criticized by many in the Israeli public, claiming it let Derry off too easily and paved the way for his quick return to politics despite his alleged crimes and his promise to retire from politics.
It is now up to Netanyahu to decide whether to abide by the court’s decision and remove him from office or retain his appointment.
Two weeks ago, in his response to petitions filed against Derry, Netanyahu said “there is no way to achieve government stability without his appointment,” calling Derry “an anchor of experience, wisdom and responsibility.” Netanyahu reportedly visited Derry on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the matter.
The Derry party released a statement accusing the court of rejecting 400,000 Shas voters: “Today the court has effectively ruled that the election is meaningless. The court’s decision is political and tainted with extreme unreasonableness.”
Netanyahu’s coalition parties issued a joint statement shortly after the verdict, calling it “shocking and painful.”
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The Supreme Court of Israel in Jerusalem. (Hillel Maier / TPS / File)
The statement noted: “Apart from the grave personal injustice caused to Minister Deri himself, the sentence is a huge injustice to over two million citizens, the majority of people who voted in favor of a government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Arie Deri will play a central role and significant role’.
He continued: “We will act in every legal way at our disposal and immediately to correct the injustice and serious damage done to the democratic decision and sovereignty of the people.
Israel’s social welfare minister, Yaakov Margi of Shas, warned earlier on Kan Radio on Wednesday that if the court disqualifies Derry, Netanyahu “understands that there will be no government. We have said that there is no reason why Aryeh Deri should not serve as a senior minister in Israel.”
The decision could threaten Netanyahu’s new coalition, as it shortened the timeline of Israel’s impending constitutional crisis and potentially threw his coalition into disarray. Some of his coalition partners have already urged him to ignore the decision.
Aryeh Deri (Gideon Marcowicz / TPS / File)
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The Movement for Quality Governance in Israel and the other complainants welcomed the court’s decision and called on Netanyahu to respect the decision and fire Deri.
“This is a significant victory in upholding the rule of law and a success for the entire Israeli public,” they said in a statement.
The court ruling comes as Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin unveiled his plan to reform the Israeli judiciary, which would limit the court’s powers to judicially review legislation, allowing the Knesset to review laws if the court overturns them, and give the the government generally controls judicial appointments.
Israeli protesters rally against the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2023. (Gili Yaari / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to protest Netanyahu’s new government and plan to overhaul the judiciary. Another mass demonstration is planned for Saturday.
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TPS news agency reported that Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to comply with the court’s decision and release Deri, saying: “If Arie Deri is not released, the Israeli government is breaking the law. A government that does not obey the law is an illegal government.”
This is not the first time a court has ordered an Israeli prime minister to fire one of his coalition members. In 1993, she called on the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to release the same Arie Deri after his first indictment.
Yonat Frieling is Fox News’ senior producer for the Middle East. You can follow her at @FrilingYonat
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