Aryeh Makhlouf Deri (; ), also Arie Deri, Arye Deri, or Arieh Deri (born 17 February 1959), is an Israeli politician and one of the founders of the

Shas Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...

political party who served as the

Vice Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

, and Minister of the Interior and Periphery under Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

from December 2022 to January 2023. Previously he served as the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee The Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee (, ''HaMisrad LeFitu'ah HaPeriferya, HaNegev VeHaGalil'') is a ministry in the Israeli government. Established in January 2005, the current minister is Yitzhak Wasserla ...

, Minister of the Economy, as well as a member in the

Security Cabinet of Israel The State Security Cabinet (SSC; , ''HaKabinet HaMedini-Bithoni''), also known as the Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (, ''Va'adat HaSarim Le'Inyanei Bitahon leomi'') or National Security Affairs Committee (NSAC), is an "Inner ...

. In 1999, Deri was

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust; he was given a three-year jail sentence. At the end of 2012, ahead of the elections for the nineteenth Knesset, he returned to lead the Shas party. He was placed in second position on the list, thus being re-elected to the Knesset. In May 2013, he was re-appointed to the role of Shas chairman. In December 2021, it was reported that Deri would resign from the Knesset as part of a plea deal for tax offenses. After re-entering the Knesset in the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

, he was appointed as Vice Prime Minister, Interior Minister, and Health Minister in the thirty-seventh government in December 2022. However, due to a January 2023 ruling by the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

that Deri was not eligible for a ministerial position due to his criminal convictions and the terms of his plea deal, he was dismissed from his official posts in the Israeli cabinet.

Early life

Aryeh Makhlouf Deri was born in

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

, Morocco, to Esther () and Eliyahu Deri. His parents lived in one of the new wealthy districts of the city and were influenced by

French culture The culture of France has been shaped by Geography of France, geography, by History of France, historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high ...

. His father owned a successful tailoring business; his family were modern Orthodox Jews. At the age of 5, Deri was enrolled at

Ozar Hatorah Ozar Hatorah () is an organization created in 1945 to provide Orthodox Jewish education. It began by setting up schools in Mandate Palestine, and after the foundation of the modern Israeli state, it went on to develop religious Jewish education in ...

, a school that combined secular and

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

religious education. In 1968, at the age of 9, his family made

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

and settled in

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( ) is a city on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In , it had a population of . History British Mandate Bat Y ...

. Deri attended a religious boarding school in

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

. In 1973, he began to study at Porat Yosef, a leading

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In May 1976, he transferred to

Hebron Yeshiva Hebron Yeshiva, also known as ''Yeshivas Hevron'', or Knesses Yisroel, is a yeshiva (school for Talmudic study). It originated in 1924 when the Rosh yeshiva, roshei yeshiva (deans) and 150 students of the Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka), Slabo ...

, where he received his

rabbinical ordination ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal Oral Torah#Rabbinic thought, "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' cease ...

. After completing his yeshiva studies, Deri was appointed secretary of the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

settlement of

Ma'ale Amos Ma'ale Amos (, lit ''Ascent of Amos'') is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the southern West Bank. Located 20 km southeast of Jerusalem, at an elevation of 725 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdict ...

, and joined the

Gush Etzion Regional Council The Gush Etzion Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gush Etzion'') is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in the northern Judean Hills, the northern part of the southern area of the West Bank, administering the Israeli settlements, se ...

. In 1983, he was appointed administrative manager of Lev Banim Yeshiva.

Political career

Establishment of Shas

In 1984, he founded and began to serve as a secretary to

Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah (; lit., "Council of iseTorah Sages") is the rabbinical body that has the ultimate authority in the Israeli ultra-Orthodox Sephardic and Mizrahi Shas Party. History The council was established along with the establi ...

. During 1985, he served as an assistant to Interior Minister, Yitzhak Peretz, and at the end of the same year he was appointed to the role of the Secretary General of Shas. In June 1986, he enlisted to a shortened time of 3 months in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

Interior minister

Upon completing his military service at the age of 27, and after the elections for the 12th Knesset, he was appointed

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

in the government of Yitzhak Shamir. Deri was sworn in on 22 December 1988. At 29, he was the youngest government minister in Israel's history. As interior minister, he abolished the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

s in theaters. When the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

sought to break away from the government and create a narrow coalition, Deri and

Haim Ramon Haim Ramon (; born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy. Biography ...

, a Knesset member from the Labor Party, initiated negotiations to create a Labor-Haredi alignment. A

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

was submitted on 15 March 1990, but five Knesset members on behalf of Shas party were absent from the vote. This agreement was later nicknamed "

The dirty trick The dirty trick () was a political scandal that occurred in Israel in 1990. It referred to an attempt by Shimon Peres to form a government made up of the left-wing factions and the ultra-orthodox parties. It failed when the ultra-orthodox parties ...

". Two rabbis,

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...

and

Elazar Shach Elazar Menachem Man Shach (, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a Haredi rabbi who headed Lithuanian Orthodox Jews in Israel and around the world from the early 1970s until his death. He served as chair of the Counc ...

, strongly opposed cooperating with the

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

. As a result, the deal fell through, and the Labor Party chairman,

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

, failed to form a coalition. At the end,

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

chairman, established a government of Likud–Right–Haredis, where Deri continued to serve as Interior Minister. After the Labor Party, led by

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, won the elections in 1992, the

party joined the coalition, and Deri continued to serve as Interior Minister, and, for the first time, as a Knesset member. He remained Minister of the Interior until May 1993, when he became a Minister without Portfolio, before returning to the Interior Ministry in June. He left the cabinet in September 1993. He was re-elected to the Knesset in 1996.

Conviction

Deri was convicted of taking $155,000 in bribes while serving as the

, and was given a three-year jail sentence in 2000. He was replaced by

Eli Yishai Eliyahu "Eli" Yishai (; born 26 December 1962) is an Israeli politician. A former leader of Shas, he represented the party in the Knesset from 1996 until 2015, also holding several ministerial posts, including being Deputy Prime Minister, Minist ...

. Due to good behavior, Deri was released from

Maasiyahu Prison Maasiyahu Prison is a minimum-security prison in Ramle, Israel, run by the Israel Prison Service. History Prisoners who have proven responsible have access to various places of employment and education programs, the right to take vacations from ...

in 2002, after serving 22 months.

Return to public life

In June 2011, he announced that he was planning to return to politics. He was re-elected to the Knesset in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. However, on 28 December 2014, Channel 2 released video footage in which

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

, the founder of Shas, attacked Deri, calling him a wicked man and a thief. The same day, Deri handed a resignation letter to the rabbinical board of Shas, who refused to accept it. On the following day, Deri presented his resignation to the Knesset speaker

Yuli-Yoel Edelstein } Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (, ; born 5 August 1958) is an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Health from 2020 to 2021. One of the most prominent refuseniks in the Soviet Union, he was the 16th Speaker of the Knesset from 2013 until his res ...

, with his seat taken by

Lior Edri Rabbi Lior Edri (; born 13 February 1979) is an Israeli rabbi and politician. He briefly served as a member of the Knesset for Shas in 2015. Biography Edri studied in two yeshivas and a kolel in Netanya. He went on to become a manager at Badatz ...

Despite his resignation from the Knesset, Deri headed the Shas list for the March 2015 election, and was subsequently appointed

Ministry of the Economy A Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Economic Affairs, or Department of Commerce is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the economy or economic policy. List Examples of such mi ...

and

Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee The Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee (, ''HaMisrad LeFitu'ah HaPeriferya, HaNegev VeHaGalil'') is a ministry in the Israeli government. Established in January 2005, the current minister is Yitzhak Wasserla ...

in the new government. He left his post as Minister of the Economy on 3 November 2015, reportedly over an unpopular gas monopoly deal, and was replaced by Netanyahu, who promised to speed up the deal. He was appointed Minister of the Interior on 11 January 2016. He resigned from the Knesset in October 2016 to allow

Michael Malchieli Michael Malchieli (; born 7 October 1982) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as the Minister of Religious Affairs in the thirty-seventh government, and is a member of the Knesset for the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Malchieli ...

to take his seat, whilst remaining a minister. He temporarily served as Minister of Religious Services in 2018 after the death of

David Azulai David Azulai (; 5 May 1954 – 30 October 2018) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas for over 20 years from 1996 and 2018. He was also Minister of Religious Services from 2015 until his death in 2018. Biogra ...

. On 17 April 2020, a senior Likud Minister, speaking unattributably, told

Al-Monitor ''Al-Monitor'' is a news website launched in 2012 by the Arab-American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel. Based in Washington, D.C., ''Al-Monitor'' provides reporting and analysis from and about the Middle East. ''Al-Monitor'' is the recipient of the I ...

that Deri was mediating the political coalition talks between Netanyahu and leader of the opposition Blue and White alliance

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

. It was also reported Deri "might even be open to a new alliance with Blue and White — now that its anti-clerical component,

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...

, quit the party and went his own way", and would only commit to remaining with Netanyahu's coalition until the next election.

Subsequent criminal conviction and resignation

On 20 November 2018, Israeli police ended a criminal investigation into Deri with a recommendation to state prosecutors that he be indicted for "committing fraud, breach of trust, obstructing court proceedings, money laundering, and tax offenses." In 2019, this recommendation was adopted in full by the state prosecutor,

Shai Nitzan Shai Nitzan () was the former State Attorney of Israel, from 2013 to December 2019. Nitzan headed the commission assigned to investigate the October 2000 events, finding no misconduct on the part of the Israel Police. The position was vacant fr ...

, but in 2021 the attorney general of Israel,

Avichai Mandelblit Avichai Mandelblit (; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serving as the Chief Military Advoc ...

, dropped all the charges except the tax offenses. Deri continued to serve as Interior Minister, and after losing the ministry with the formation of the

thirty-sixth government of Israel The thirty-sixth government of Israel, or the Bennett–Lapid government, was the cabinet of Israel that was formed on 13 June 2021 after the 2021 Israeli legislative election, 2021 Knesset elections. On 2 June 2021 a coalition agreement was s ...

, as an MK and chair of the Shas party. On 23 January 2022, he resigned from the Knesset as part of a plea bargain. Deri admitted to underreporting the value of property sold to his brother

Shlomo Deri Shlomo Deri () is an Israeli lawyer, businessman, politician, and founder of the Respect for Tradition Party (Kavod U’Masoret Party). He was part of Shas negotiating team that negotiated its position in the government following the 2015 Israeli ...

to avoid land tax, failure to report income from the sales and evading tax on NIS 534,000 of income, by funneling payments from Green Ocean investment fund to his brother. Deri received a year's suspended sentence, and was also ordered to pay a NIS 180,000 fine. As part of the plea deal, no determination was made as to whether Deri's crimes carried "moral turpitude", which would have barred him from seeking election to the Knesset within 7 years of the plea agreement.

Return to the Knesset

On 2 February 2022, Deri gave a speech in which he accused his prosecution of being motivated by his Moroccan heritage, and expressed his intent to remain as leader of Shas. Deri led the party through the 2022 election, and returned to the Knesset after it won eleven seats. Deri became Minister of Interior,

and

in the

37th government of Israel The thirty-seventh government of Israel is the current cabinet of Israel, formed on 29 December 2022, following the Knesset election on 1 November 2022. The coalition government consists of six parties — Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, ...

on 29 December 2022. On 18 January 2023, the

ruled that Deri was not allowed to hold a position as a cabinet minister due to his conviction for tax offenses. As a result, Deri was consensually dismissed from the cabinet on 22 January; his dismissal went into effect on 24 January. In his place, Deri chose

as the acting Minister of Interior and

Yoav Ben-Tzur Rabbi Yoav Ben-Tzur (; born 11 June 1958) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Shas and as a Minister in the Ministry of Labor. Ben-Tzur previously served as the acting Minister of Health between January ...

as the acting Minister of Health.

Personal life

Deri married Yaffa Cohen in 1981. They have nine children. He lives in the

Bayit VeGan Bayit VeGan (, lit. ''House and Garden'', also Bayit Vagan) is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. It is located to the east of Mount Herzl, and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel and Givat Mordechai. History Bronze Age A 4,000-ye ...

neighborhood of

. In addition to

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Deri is fluent in

Moroccan Arabic Moroccan Arabic ( ), also known as Darija ( or ), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi Arabic dialect continuum and as such is mutually intelligible to some extent with Algerian ...

and French. His older brother,

Yehuda Deri Yehuda Deri (; 31 July 1957 – 9 July 2024) was an Israeli rabbi, member of the Chief Rabbinical Council of Israel, and the Chief Rabbi of Beersheba from 1997. In 2013, he was a candidate for Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was also a past candidate fo ...

, was the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

and

Av Beit Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...

of the city of

Be'er Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

. He was also a member of the

Chief Rabbinate Council Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

. Yehuda died in July 2024. Another brother of Deri,

Shlomo Shlomo or Szlomo is the English form of שְׁלֹמֹה, the Hebrew name of the Israelite King Solomon. It is a popular name among Jews, especially in Israel. As a mononym * Solomon, king of ancient Israel * Shlomo (beatboxing artist) or Sim ...

, is a lawyer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deri, Aryeh 1959 births Living people Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli politicians convicted of corruption Israeli politicians convicted of crimes Israeli prisoners and detainees Leaders of political parties in Israel Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Ministers of internal affairs of Israel Ministers of religious affairs of Israel Israeli Mizrahi Jews Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Meknes Prisoners and detainees of Israel Rabbinic members of the Knesset Rabbis convicted of crimes Shas leaders Shas politicians Deri family Ministers without Portfolio of Israel Hebron Yeshiva alumni