Israeli’s Bribery Conviction: A Vote-Getter?

JERUSALEM —  Rabbi Aryeh Deri, one of Israel’s most powerful politicians and a messiah-like hero to much of its large ultra-Orthodox underclass, was convicted on bribery charges Wednesday, triggering tearful protests and a political upheaval that will be felt for months to come.

Considered a veritable kingmaker because the votes he delivers can make or break an Israeli government, Deri is a champion of Israel’s much-maligned Sephardic community, Jews who trace their origins to Middle Eastern or North African countries. They constitute more than half the country’s Jewish population but have long felt discriminated against by Israel’s European Jewish, or Ashkenazi, elite.

Deri’s conviction will aggravate the ethnic and religious divisions already rending Israeli society, but he is likely to translate the legal setback into political gain in national elections May 17. If he succeeds, he’ll have more clout to make his agenda part of the next government’s.

A three-judge panel found Deri guilty of taking $155,000 in bribes, of fraud and of related corruption charges. In an unusually harsh, 917-page verdict, the court said Deri, who heads the Shas party of religious Sephardim, abused his power to enrich himself and then worked to obstruct justice, falsify evidence, tamper with witnesses and sabotage the legal proceedings. He used money siphoned off from religious schools to buy two apartments and furnish one with a Jacuzzi and $30,000 worth of imported bathroom fixtures, the court said.

Deri has maintained his innocence and said Wednesday that he will appeal. He faces additional corruption charges from a stint as interior minister.

Deri’s trial, one of the longest in Israeli history, figured in the national political landscape for almost a decade, tainting government ministers and parliament members and at one point threatening the political survival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The court explicitly blamed Deri for the extraordinary duration of the case. Early on, he invoked his right to remain silent--and stayed so for 2 1/2 years.

Wearing the black velvet skullcap typical of his followers, Deri looked stunned as he sat in the packed Jerusalem District Court and heard his condemnation. Outside, bearded black-coated Shas supporters prayed and also appeared dazed. Soon, many began to sob openly over what they saw as an unjust persecution.

Urging restraint, Netanyahu voiced deep sympathy for Deri and his family but also underscored the need to obey the court’s ruling. Before Wednesday’s verdict, Netanyahu, who relies on Shas support to retain power, took the unusual step of urging the court to acquit Deri.

Security was tight after some of Deri’s supporters threatened to riot over a negative verdict. Police and soldiers surrounded the mostly Arab neighborhood where the court is located, and police helicopters flew overhead. The three judges reportedly received death threats and were given bodyguards.

Except for a bit of tire-burning, reaction was angry and sorrowful but not violent.

In fact, Deri and his Shas party stand to benefit from the verdict because the 40-year-old scholar of ancient Jewish law can cast himself as a martyr fighting a hostile system controlled by a secular, Ashkenazi elite--a role he has mastered.

The Shas party will use Deri’s plight as a rallying point intended to capture additional seats in parliament in May. Not all Sephardim are ultra-Orthodox or members of Shas, but the party, which currently holds 10 seats in parliament, has proved crucial to recent coalition governments.

“Shas will grow in strength like the Jews in Egypt: The more they were persecuted, the more they grew,” declared Yohai Melamed, one of a few hundred Deri supporters outside the courthouse.

Others chanted Deri’s first name, which means “lion,” and added in unison: “When the lion roars, who will not fear?” Still others danced and sang from the haggada, the story of the Jews’ Passover exodus and escape from annihilation.

In the last 15 years, the Moroccan-born Deri has transformed Shas from a tiny, disorganized, underprivileged faction into the third-largest party in the country, with influence beyond its size.

More important, Shas under Deri is a movement combining religious fervor and populism to capitalize on decades of ethnic resentment. An estimated 40,000 children attend Shas schools where prayer and reading of the Torah have largely eclipsed math and science.

This is also where the money came in, and what ultimately got Deri in trouble. In his trial, Deri said the money he spent on his lifestyle came from his wife’s dowry, which was generous, he testified, because as a rising scholar and politician, he was such a good catch. His supporters say he was simply doing what Israeli politicians have always done, taking state money to benefit his people. In so doing, he was redressing a historical imbalance that favored Israel’s past leftist leaderships, supporters claim.

“He is their Jeanne d’Arc and their Robin Hood,” said Shlomo Ben-Ami, a prominent Sephardic leader from the secular, left-of-center Labor Party.

After his conviction, Deri received a hero’s welcome at Shas headquarters, where he essentially launched the party’s campaign.

“We will go from house to house, from door to door, and will see in whom the people of Israel believe!” he proclaimed.

Deri will be sentenced next Thursday. Legal experts say he could face up to five years in prison, be barred from serving as a Cabinet minister and be suspended from parliament.