The fight against discrimination faced by Mizrahi children in the ultra-Orthodox education system was one of the main reasons for the establishment of the Shas Party in the early 1980s. When Aryeh Deri resumed leadership of the party five years ago — he left when indicted for corruption in 1993 — the issue was still relevant. The old-new party chairman announced that he would continue to fight against discrimination and even threatened to shut down seminars (ultra-Orthodox high schools for girls), which grant preference to Ashkenazi (of European origin) over Mizrahi (of Arab states/Middle Eastern origin) students.
But over the years, Deri moderated his statements and became less and less determined to fight these institutions. This culminated in an angry response he gave to the Shas Party conference last February. When asked about the issue of discrimination, he responded, "Is that really the most pressing issue we face? How many boys have nowhere to go? How many girls have nowhere to go? Is that really the problem? True, there is a small minority who don't get in because of various problems or because they're unsuitable or simply because they are unsuccessful …"
