Knesset approves Deri’s return to Interior Ministry

Shas party chairman MK Aryeh Deri won the Knesset’s approval Monday night of his appointment as interior minister, two decades after being forced out of the post before being convicted of bribery charges and spending time in jail.

The Knesset plenum voted 54 to 43 to approve the government’s request to allow the appointment, hours after the High Court of Justice rejected a petition asking to stay the move while appeals are filed against it.

His appointment was challenged in the High Court by the Movement for Quality Government.

A number of lawmakers also spoke out against Deri’s appointment before the vote, saying someone convicted of moral turpitude should not be allowed to reclaim his post.

“It’s possible this is legal, but it’s only legal because lawmakers never thought it was possible to be in a situation that we are in now,” Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid said.

Deri left the post of interior minister in 1993 under a cloud of corruption allegations. He was later convicted of bribery, and lost his final appeal in 2000, beginning a 22-month prison term.

Deri, who first became interior minister at the age of 29, served just under two years in prison, followed by a mandatory seven years away from politics under the “moral turpitude” law for convicted politicians.

He took over the Economy Ministry after joining the coalition last year, but dropped the post to avoid being responsible for pushing the controversial natural gas reform being advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Deri refused to use the economy minister’s legal powers to approve the deal, but promised Netanyahu he “won’t stand in its way.”

He was given the Ministry of Negev, Galilee and the Periphery, as a stopgap measure and will keep that post on top of the Interior Ministry.

Netanyahu had previously asked for a legal opinion from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to ensure there were no legal impediments to Deri’s appointment.