Interior Minister Aryeh Deri is one of Israel’s most intriguing politicians. He was CEO of the Ministry of Interior at age 27, interior minister at 29, one of the founders of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shas Party, and a favorite of the party’s all-powerful mythological leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Deri was a boy wonder in Israeli politics, and even though he was affiliated with an ultra-Orthodox party, he won over hearts and minds among nonreligious Israelis as well. Deri speaks the language of the man on the street, loves to stir up the media and understands the voice of the masses more than most others.
Under his leadership, Shas allowed late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to pass the 1993 Oslo Accord in the Knesset in 1993. The party demonstrated moderation and even diplomatic pragmatism in the 1990s. But then came the criminal investigation against Deri, followed by a bill of indictment for taking bribes. A long court case ensued, leading to a resounding conviction in March 1999.
Israel’s Sephardic-traditional public viewed Deri’s court case as racist political harassment. After Deri's conviction, Shas soared to 17 mandates in the Knesset in May 1999. However, this was also Deri’s swan song. He was forced to abandon political life immediately afterward, and he was given a three-year jail sentence, with the court reducing his sentence by one year in 2000. His spot as head of the party was inherited by Eli Yishai, whose views are more extreme right-wing than Deri. Shas became a right-wing party and an automatic ally to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After Deri finished serving his time and also a cooling-off period (Israeli law stipulates that politicians committing an offense involving moral turpitude can only be re-elected after seven years pass since the day they are released from jail), Deri began to make his way back to politics. Meanwhile, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef passed away; he had been Shas’ undisputed spiritual leader and a Torah giant of the generation in the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Deri prevailed over Yishai, regained control over Shas, and made a clean sweep of seven mandates in the last March 2015 elections. He returned to the government and the Cabinet. Now Deri was all grown up, realistic, mature and power-hungry.
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