Court-Shas Leader Can't Serve As Minister; Early Blow To Netanyahu Gov't

In a 10-1 decision, Israel's High Court has ruled that Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri cannot serve in the cabinet of PM Benjamin Netanyahu due to past convictions for bribery, tax fraud, and breach of trust. Prior to the ruling, the Knesset had voted to alter its rules to allow Deri, head of the Sephardic Orthodox-interest Shas Party, to serve in cabinet.

• Anshel Pfeffer at Haaretz on potential outcomes:
  • "Netanyahu has no easy options. He can ignore the Supreme Court ruling, something no Israeli PM has ever done. He can agree to remove Deri but move to change the law in the next few weeks, bulldozing through the legal “reforms” and reappoint Deri. Or he can risk playing for time."
  • "If Netanyahu removes Deri and doesn’t rush to change the law to can reappoint him, Shas may leave the coalition & topple the government, though it’s hard to see them doing so when they’ve received so much in the coalition agreements."
  • "But they’ll hold Netanyahu hostage either way. The bottom line is however Netanyahu and Shas react to the Supreme Court ruling, the timeline of Israel’s impending constitutional crisis has now drastically shortened. The showdown over the court’s powers is now imminent."