Ultra-Orthodox Leader in Israel Gets 4 Years in Prison

A powerful ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sentenced to prison Thursday for taking bribes, capping a drama likely to affect the tight Israeli election race.

Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox ethnically based Shas Party, received four years in prison--a tough sentence that could rally Shas supporters among Sephardic Jews to the May 17 polls.

Shas leaders have said the actions against Deri and charges brought against other party leaders are part of an effort by Israel’s political establishment to keep Shas from gaining more power.

The Moroccan-born Deri has backed Netanyahu’s reelection campaign--and a fresh outpouring of support could help Netanyahu in his race against opposition Labor Party leader Ehud Barak. Polls show that the race is now a dead heat.

Netanyahu is appealing to Israelis who feel marginalized by what he describes as the “elites,” including judges. Shas appeals to “outsider” constituencies that also lend strong backing to Netanyahu’s campaign for prime minister: ultra-Orthodox Jews and Sephardic Jews, who are of Middle Eastern origin.

Netanyahu has struggled, though, to maintain his support among Sephardic Jews, many of whom live in small factory towns that have been affected by Netanyahu’s privatization policy and are hit hard by unemployment.

Barak has centered his campaign on economic issues, promising to cut joblessness in half.

Shas has a core of several hundred thousand followers but can count on backing from hundreds of thousands more when tensions between Ashkenazi Jews of European descent and Sephardic Jews are exacerbated.

“The more they persecute us, the better we do in the polls,” said Shas lawmaker David Tal.

Deri, who was convicted March 17, has said he will appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.

Thursday’s drama was heightened when Deri failed to show up on time for his sentencing. He was paying a bedside visit to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Shas spiritual leader who handpicked Deri as his right-hand man. Yosef suffered a mild heart attack earlier this week and had undergone an angioplasty.

Deri scrambled to the sentencing more than 90 minutes late, his white stretch limousine screeching to a halt in front of the court. Hundreds of black-garbed Shas followers scattered to the sides.

They broke into a defiant show of singing and dancing when the verdict was announced.

Jerusalem District Court Judge Yaakov Tzemach said the sentence reflected the gravity of the crime. Deri’s three co-conspirators all received sentences of a year or less.

Tzemach said Deri, 40, took bribes throughout his five years in public service, first as the director-general of the Interior Ministry and then as interior minister.