Shas weekly ignores reports Deri considering J'lem mayoral bid

While Shas officials were quick to respond to recent reports that the party's former chairman Aryeh Deri was considering running for Jerusalem mayor in the upcoming municipal elections and said that they would back his candidacy, the party's weekly, Yom Leyom, has ignored the reports altogether.

Yom Leyom's current issue, published Thursday, tackled a host of domestic and international political issues, such as the ongoing corruption investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but did not mention Deri's possible candidacy or Shas Chairman Eli Yisha's announcement that that his party would endorse Deri should he decide to join the race.

The weekly also featured an article on Senator John McCain's running mate in the US presidential election, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Current issue of Yom Leyom

A Yom Leyom employee told Ynet that the weekly had not been ordered by senior Shas officials not to deal with deri's mayoral bid, saying that "we do not report on potential candidates until (Shas spiritual leader) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Council of Torah Sages decide on which candidate to back".

Haredi Knesset Member Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism), who has already announced his candidacy for mayor of Jerusalem, is seeking Shas' support in the race, but it is estimated that the party will postpone any decision on the matter until Deri makes his intentions clear.

Deri spent 27 months in prison after being convicted of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. These offenses carry moral turpitude, which does not allow him to run for a public office.

In order to be able to run, Deri will have to ask President Shimon Peres to remove the moral turpitude. An official at the President's Residence said Tuesday evening that "the president has yet to receive an official appeal. The president deals with pardons only after receiving an official appeal and according to the acceptable procedures and rules."