Jerusalem is already divided, says former Shas leader Deri

Former Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who asked a court this week to allow him to run for Jerusalem mayor, says conditions on the ground suggest that the capital is already divided. "The pledge not to divide Jerusalem is empty talk," the former interior minister told Haaretz in a recent interview.

"Jerusalem is divided. Anyone who comes from outside sees it immediately. The eastern side has no infrastructure and is severely run down. It is no accident that the residents don't want to take part in the municipal elections.

Deri, who previously said he would accept a ruling by the Jerusalem District Court banning him from running for mayor, now says he may appeal against such a verdict.

Deri served 10 months in prison in 2001 and 2002 for accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust offenses that were deemed as involving moral turpitude.

"The differences are purely judicial - whether the moral turpitude is valid for five years, as it was before I entered prison, or seven years, as decided later, while I was serving my sentence," he says.

Deri says that some countries such as the United States allow prisoners to be elected, let alone vote. "Let the public decide on the moral issue of whether I am worthy of returning to public life and whether Jerusalem could benefit from a man like me."

Deri has recently received the endorsement of two key ultra-Orthodox rabbis - Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef and United Torah Judaism's Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. He says the rabbis sponsored him because they feared that UTJ's candidate Meir Porush was unlikely to beat secular contender Nir Barkat in the mayoral campaign.

Deri's people conducted polls showing that he is extremely popular, and that the problems troubling Jerusalem are mainly housing, employment, education, transportation and pollution. The fear of the city becoming increasingly ultra-Orthodox was the least of concerns.

Deri says the public is familiar with his skills, capabilities and dedication to public office. "In all the positions I filled I worked for the public, secular and religious, Jews and Arabs. Being Jerusalem mayor is a huge mission on a national scale. The city is in a terrible low and I, who am raising my children and grandchildren and entire family in it, fear for its future," he says.

"Jerusalem needs public housing, smart industry, advanced transportation and large infrastructure investments. I want to turn it into the Jewish nation's capital. Every Jew in the world will be given a resident card, signed by the mayor and prime minister, for an annual rate. That's just one of the ways to help Jerusalem get back on its feet."