Deri slammed for lamenting high cost of living while at Swiss resort

Shas party leader Aryeh Deri leaves the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court after pleading guilty on charges of tax offenses as part of a negotiated plea bargain, on January 25, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Shas party leader Aryeh Deri leaves the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court after pleading guilty on charges of tax offenses as part of a negotiated plea bargain, on January 25, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former Shas MK Aryeh Deri — who is still leading the party following his resignation from the Knesset last week as part of a plea deal — releases a video slamming the government for rising prices harming the weakest members of society.

In the video, a mother and son are seen shopping as the child asks to buy sugary drinks and plastic plates, two items which have recently received a tax hike.

The mother laments being unable to buy them due to “[Finance Minister Avigdor] Liberman prices,” while a Russian-accented man in the store cheers the price of cat food, an apparent reference to a much-derided provision in the state budget designating NIS 12 million ($3.8 million) to neuter stray cats.

Deri receives criticism for posting the video while on an expensive vacation in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Yisrael Beytenu MK Alex Kushnir tweets that many of Deri’s constituents can’t cover their expenses “because you have decided that they do not deserve to study and make a living.”

“You made them dependent on pensions you handed out as election bribes, while laughing at them from your home in Safsufa and shedding a tear from a luxury resort in Switzerland,” Kushnir adds. “Your cynicism is so transparent that it is also seen through the plea deal you signed.”

Deri’s son, Yanki Deri, tweets in response that he and his eight siblings funded the Swiss vacation as a surprise for their parents’ wedding anniversary.

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