Gaydamak hints at run with Deri in J'lem mayoral race

"He is a great man, but I only know him from saying hello and from weddings," says tycoon.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Arkadi Gaydamak 88 (photo credit: )
Arkadi Gaydamak 88
(photo credit: )
Billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak on Sunday voiced support for the potential candidacy of former Shas leader Aryeh Deri in the Jerusalem mayoral race, and seemed to suggest cooperating with him in the upcoming municipal elections. "It will be a great honor for me to run with Aryeh Deri in the elections," Gaydamak said, during a visit to Jerusalem's Bikur Holim Hospital, which he owns. "He is a great man, but I only know him from saying hello and from weddings." Gaydamak pointedly refused to say whether he would run as Deri's number two in the November 11 race, although his remarks indicated he held out such a hope if Deri overcomes his legal problems and is allowed to run. "Aryeh Deri is excellent for Jerusalem; if he has the chance to run, he will be an excellent mayor for Jerusalem, but that won't stop me from running and winning," he said. "Of all the candidates only Deri is good for Jerusalem - and me, too, of course," he added. Gaydamak has been coming in last in polls concerning the Jerusalem mayoral race; Deri running would likely erase the little support Gaydamak has among city voters. At the same time, the billionaire's vast finances could be an incentive for Deri to hook up with him, if the former Shas leader is allowed to run. The former Shas leader, who served 22 months of a three-year prison term for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust - crimes that involve "moral turpitude" - is by law not allowed to run for public office until seven years pass since his release from prison, which ends only in 2009. Deri, however, believes the law should not apply to his case because the law stipulating a seven-year waiting period was passed only after his prison term began. Deri's legal team is currently considering asking a Jerusalem court for a declarative verdict to this effect. Alternately, he can petition President Shimon Peres to commute the waiting period, though Peres has been under pressure not to respond to such a request.