Press release:

30,000 people have signed the petition to stop the appointment of Aryeh Deri as a minister

MQG launched a campaign calling the Prime minister to draw back his apparent appointment of Deri as a minister in the new government, after he was charged with crimes that hold against them a “mark of disgrace” in his last term as a minister. So far over a million people have been exposed to the Internet campaign and in three days over 30,000 people have signed the petition.

MQG published a petition calling Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, the elected Prime minister, to not appoint Aryeh Deri to a ministry role in the 20th Israeli government following his conviction in April of 1999 in a series of charges that hold against them a “mark of disgrace”, among them: Bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

The petition states: “We are startled from the natural and relaxed debate currently held in the political talks about the appointment of Aryeh Deri as interior minister in Netanyahu’s 4th government, the same role which he already filled before and was convicted during his term in a series of charges – that is not only absurd, but deals a severe blow to any citizen which cares about the integrity of his electives”.

The publication comes as a part of the movement’s battle to promote political integrity in Israel, and in addition to the Deri case, the movement calls to revoke the option of any elected official convicted of crimes that hold against them a “mark of disgrace” to be elected to the Knesset and hold a ministry position. The movement sees the campaign as an ethical one, in that an appointment of a convicts as elected figures clearly legitimizes corruption amongst political leaders.

The petition is a direct continuation to the ongoing effort of the movement regarding this issue which can be seen in the movement’s proposal for the correction of one of Israel’s basic laws: The government that rules that a person found guilty by the court of a crime that holds against it a “mark of disgrace” and was sentenced to over six months of imprisonment, while an active member of the Knesset or the Israeli government, cannot be appointed as a minister for 14 years.

The public support of the petition is rapidly growing, and in just a few days stands at over 30,000 votes. The movement’s Facebook page related to the subject has over 19,000 Likes, 10,000 shares, 2000 comments and over a million views.

Sign our petition: http://www.atzuma.co.il/deri