ISRAEL: MEMBERS OF SHAS MOVEMENT MEET PRESIDENT EZER WEIZMAN

Описание: (23 Apr 1997) English/Nat

Members of the ultra orthodox "Shas" movement, at the centre of the current political scandal in Israel, have met with President Ezer Weizman.

They are hoping to enlist Weizman's support for an official inquiry into the workings of a police investigation which ended last week.

Allegations of influence peddling have focused on the Shas leader, Rabbi Arieh Deri.

The movement claims it has been singled out for blame on religious or ethnic grounds.

The corruption scandal surrounding Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to rumble on.

Three senior prosecutors have said they believe there was enough evidence to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the centre of the scandal is the January 10th appointment of Jerusalem criminal lawyer Roni Bar-On as attorney general.

Prosecutors ignored police recommendations that Netanyahu, his chief of staff Avigdor Lieberman and Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi also be charged in the scandal.

It was suggested that Netanyahu had made Bar-On's appointment in response to threats by Arieh Deri, the leader of the religious Shas Party, to withdraw his support.

Deri expected Bar-On to agree to a plea bargain that would end his three-year corruption trial without a jail sentence.

The issue has become so serious that opposition legislators collected enough signatures for a special session of parliament during the Passover break to discuss the affair.

Supporters of the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, Arieh Deri, who has been indicted in relation to the scandal, held a rally in his support.

It's been reported that Deri demanded Bar-On's appointment in exchange for the support of two Shas Cabinet ministers for the Hebron troop pullback.

But Roni Bar-On resigned after one day in office.

The new attorney general, Eliakim Rubinstein, says Deri should be tried for blackmail, a statement that has angered many Sephardic Jews.

They're demanding that Netanyahu should also face trial saying that the decision not to prosecute him was prejudice against the Shas.

Former attorney general, Michael Ben-Yair, is holding a vigil outside parliament and is demanded that a commission of inquiry investigate the scandal.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Similar aspects are very severe but the public aspects has to be, have to be investigated, but by a, well investigating committee."
SUPER CAPTION: Michael Ben Yair, Former Attorney General

If the decision not to indict Netanyahu isn't overturned, it's likely that members of the Shas party will refuse to support the government on key issues to split the fragile coalition.

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