Lapid bill would permanently bar from politics anyone convicted of moral turpitude

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party on Wednesday signed off on a bill that would bar any elected official convicted of moral turpitude from public life indefinitely.

The bill would prevent a person convicted of moral turpitude from serving as either an MK, minister, deputy minister, head of a local authority or prime minister.

As the law stands, a person convicted of moral turpitude cannot run for politics for seven years.

The proposal comes amid plea deals recently signed with former ministers Aryeh Deri and Yaakov Litzman, as well as one possibly in the works with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid stated last week that he intends to advance the bill, which if passed could prevent Netanyahu from returning to the public arena permanently. Channel 13 news reported that not everyone in the coalition government is in agreement over the bill.

The initiator of the bill, Yesh Atid MK Boaz Toporovsky, said: “The time has come for us to really fight corruption. Not seven years and not 14 years. Anyone convicted of moral turpitude does not deserve to be elected by the public in the State of Israel.”