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Deri will run for Jerusalem mayor

By · September 9, 2008

Former Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri announced he will run for mayor of Jerusalem.

Deri spent three years in jail after a 1999 conviction on bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which includes the charge of moral turpitude. As a result of that charge, he is not permitted to run for public office for seven years following the end of the sentence, which concluded in mid-2002.

But since the elections are slated for Nov. 11, six months before the ban, Deri said he would appeal to President Shimon Peres and to the High Court of Justice to remove the moral turpitude charge or the seven-year ban.

“I weighed it out, and consulted with my rabbis and with attorneys. I have made the decision to run,” Deri told Army Radio on Tuesday.

Shas Chairman Eli Yishai announced last week that his party will support a Deri candidacy.

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