The ministerial committee for legislation on Sunday approved a bill to return Shas leader Aryeh Deri to the government despite the Supreme Court ruling that he cannot serve due to his multiple convictions of crimes.
The legislation approved by the ministers contradicts the opinion of the Attorney General who said it would be once again struck down in the high court.
The bill will in fact be a revision to the Basic Law: The Government, adding into the law a section that prohibits judicial intervention in the appointment of a minister or his dismissal.
"The appointment of ministers by the prime minister, with the approval of the Knesset or the decision to remove a minister from the post, is the core of democratic action. The Supreme Court is not authorized to conduct judicial review of ministerial appointments for any reason," the ministers said in a document explaining the bill.
Deri who was convicted of corruption on three counts including tax evasion just last year was removed from his post as health minister and interior minister in rotation, by the Supreme Court.
In its ruling the court “extreme unreasonableness” as the reason for his disqualification.
Deri, who had been sentenced to three years in prison for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in 1991, was again convicted last year on charges of tax evasion.
He escaped punishment after signing a plea deal that saw him resign as a member of the Knesset. Although the move seemed to signal the end of Deri’s political career, he nonetheless helmed his ultra-Orthodox party in the most recent November election, in which his party secured 11 Knesset seats.
A 10 justices majority said Deri mislead the Magistrate Court when he said he would resign from politics.
In the minority opinion, sole dissenter Justice Yosef Elron wrote that he believed that the appointment should stand, but Deri must first appeal to the chairman of the Central Election Committee to have him determine the matter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was forced to remove Deri from the government said the dismissal only came in compliance with the court's ruling, which he called “an unfortunate decision that 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."
Netanyahu added that he would also seek "any legal way in which you can continue to contribute to the State of Israel from your vast experience and skills, in accordance with the will of the people."
The ministers also approved a bill to allow families of terrorists to be deported, a law canceling the 2005 disengagement bill, and a law that would allow politicians to investigate law enforcement and state prosecution, members.