Former Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri will address the Jerusalem Conference next week, in what will be his first political appearance in several years. Deri was a political star in the 80's and 90's when he led the fledgling Shas movement "from strength to strength;" the party reached its high of 17 Knesset seats in the 1999 elections. Deri paid a high personal price, however, serving two years in prison for accepting bribes on behalf of a Jerusalem yeshiva - charges that even today are contested by his many thousands of supporters.
Deri will speak on the first day of the three-day Jerusalem Conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on March 15-17. Speculation is rife that Deri is thus preparing his comeback to the political scene and a challenge to the current Shas leader, MK Eli Yeshai.
The Jerusalem Conference is sponsored by the B'Sheva newspaper, and is designed as an alternative to the largely left-wing Herzliya Conference. Others scheduled to address the conference on its first day include Minister Uzi Landau, MKs Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Yuli Edelstein, and Michael Ratzon, IDF generals (res.) Aharon Levran and Yoash Tzidon, and Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau and Zalman Melamed.
Deri will speak on the first day of the three-day Jerusalem Conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on March 15-17. Speculation is rife that Deri is thus preparing his comeback to the political scene and a challenge to the current Shas leader, MK Eli Yeshai.
The Jerusalem Conference is sponsored by the B'Sheva newspaper, and is designed as an alternative to the largely left-wing Herzliya Conference. Others scheduled to address the conference on its first day include Minister Uzi Landau, MKs Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Yuli Edelstein, and Michael Ratzon, IDF generals (res.) Aharon Levran and Yoash Tzidon, and Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau and Zalman Melamed.