Israeli Supreme Court says minister barred over tax offenses

By TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that a key member of the country’s new government cannot serve as a Cabinet minister. The decision Wednesday deepens a rift over the power of the courts in Israel and presents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with what could be his first coalition crisis. The high court ruled that Aryeh Deri, the influential head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and a longtime Netanyahu ally, cannot serve as a minister after he was convicted last year for tax offenses and placed on probation as part of a plea deal. The hotly anticipated ruling comes as Israel is being roiled by sweeping changes to the country’s legal system.