Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Aryeh Deri as Minister of Interior and Minister of Health at today's cabinet meeting following last week's High Court ruling disqualifying him from holding office.
Netanyahu wrote to Deri, "As you know, I decided to appoint you as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Health with the approval of the majority of MKs, because you are a man of experience, intelligence and responsibility who is important to the State of Israel at all times, and at this time in particular. I also thought that it was important that you serve the State of Israel as a member in my cabinet, where you will be able to make an impact with your many years of experience in the cabinets of Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin - rich experience that contributes to Israel's security and strength."
"To my regret, the High Court has decided that I have an obligation to remove you from your position as Minister of the Interior and Health. This unfortunate decision ignores the will of the people, as reflected in the great trust that the public gave to the people's representatives and their elected officials in my government, when it was clear to everyone that you would serve in the government as a senior minister.
"I intend to look for legal ways in which you can continue to contribute to the State of Israel from your experience and your many skills, in accordance with the will of the people.
"Nevertheless, following the verdict, I must inform you that I am forced with a heavy heart, with great sorrow and with extremely difficult feelings, to move you from your position as a minister in the government."
Last week an eleven justice High Court panel voted by 10-1 that Deri's ministerial appointments were "unreasonable in the extreme" due to the number of criminal convictions against him and the fact that he had previously told the court that he was retiring from political life during a plea bargain for tax offenses. Even Judge Yosef Alron, who was the only dissenting voice on the panel of judges, believed that the Prime Minister should have contacted the Chairman of the Elections Committee to determine whether there was 'moral turpitude' in the tax offenses for which Deri was convicted.
Following the High Court ruling on January 18, the Attorney General Adv. Gali Baharav-Miara announced that Netanyahu must fire Deri in accordance with the ruling. She added that Netanyahu could not take on the ministerial portfolios himself because of the lawsuits pending against him.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 22, 2023.
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