 |
| Convicted felon Aryeh Deri |
A convicted felon will now be running the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas party after Rabbi Ovadia Yosef appointed Aryeh Deri as its chairman, according to a statement released by Shas party officials.
Rabbi Rafael Pinchasi, said that the rabbi Yosef had decided to terminate the agreement of shared leadership that was implemented before the January elections.
Under the previous agreement, the former interior minister, Eli Yishai, Rabbi Deri, and Ariel Attias led the party together. At that time, it was widely seen as a temporary arrangement until after the elections, and would be followed by permanent appointments.
Rabbi Deri previously served as chairman of the Shas Party until 1999, when, after a long, and controversial procedure, he was convicted by a court of law on numerous felony charges. Deri has always maintained his innocence.
“I cannot understand why Rabbi Yosef would appoint a convicted criminal to run the Shas party. Are there really no other people who can run the party that he has to appoint a criminal? What was wrong with Eli Yishai? I think that the Knesset should pass a law that prohibits convicted felons from holding any position of power,” Daniel Morris, 46, of Jerusalem, Israel told YourJewishNews.com after learning about the Deri appointment.
Rabbi Yishai served as party chairman for the past 12 years. He has now been appointed to serve as the head of a large education network within the Sephardi community.