Knesset advances ‘Deri bill’ to neuter court oversight of ministerial appointments

By Carrie Keller-Lynn 22 February 2023, 2:22 pm

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Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

Shas leader MK Aryeh Deri, right, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Shas faction meeting in Knesset, January 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset advances a bill tailored to returning Shas leader Aryeh Deri to the cabinet, weeks after the High Court of Justice found his two ministerial appointments “unreasonable in the extreme” due to past offenses.

Initiated by Shas MK Moshe Arbel, the bill eliminates court oversight over ministerial appointments, and could open a door for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reappoint Deri, after the court and attorney general forced him to fire the Shas leader from his cabinet last month.

The bill clears its preliminary reading 62-53, and will go to the Knesset House Committee for determination on where it will land for further processing, in advance of its next three required readings on the floor.

Deri himself is absent for the vote.