Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on December 30, 2014

Rabbis Refuse Resignation Amid Chaos in Sephardic Party

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Hero No More: Shas leader Aryeh Deri got a heros welcome when he returned home from jail on corruption charges in 2002.

Published December 29, 2014.

The head of the Sephardic Orthodox Shas party submitted a resignation letter the day after a video was released showing the partys former spiritual leader criticizing him and praising his rival.

Aryeh Deri said Monday that he was retiring from Shas and politics, the Times of Israel reported. However, the partys council of rabbis rejected his resignation and ordered that he continue in his post.

Deris rival Eli Yishai, who headed the party for years, broke away from Shas earlier this month to start his own party, Haam Itanu.

In the video, which was filmed in 2008 and believed to be leaked by Yishai, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said he was concerned about the possibility of Deri, who served in prison for two years, returning to party leadership. Deri was convicted of graft in 1999 and stayed out of politics until 2012.

Thirty, 40 percent will leave [Shas]. Why? Because he was convicted in court. Why take a thief or bribe taker? the rabbi asked rhetorically in the video.

Yosef, who died in 2013, appointed Deri as sole party chairman that year.

See the original post:

Shas Leader Aryeh Deri Tries To Quit After Release of Ovadia 'Thief' Tape

Category: Sephardic
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