Mrs. Yaffa Deri, wife of Aryeh Deri granted an interview to Yediot Achronot. The complete interview will appear in the newspaper’s weekend edition.

She begins by sharing the feeling that prevailed in the home a bit over a month ago when Shas’ Moetzas Gedolei Torah decided that Deri will be slotted as the number two man in the party, behind Eli Yishai.

“These were complex moments but Aryeh did not feel disgraced but nevertheless, it was complicated for Aryeh to return to the second spot and facing the reality of three people co-running the party. I however saw things differently and when Aryeh returned home I opened the door for him, telling him out of curiosity I wanted to know the value of the kesuva. A woman of course does not raise the value of her kesuva but it was my way of telling him that I am proud to see how he is capable of containing the issues and moving forward towards achieving the goal. We sat in the kitchen and drank tea. I was certain that I am by his side in fire and water. Where ever he goes I go.”

The Yediot correspondent speaks of Mrs. Deri’s dress, how she always appears meticulous. “She sits up straight, not cozy and not laughing. The years of exposure and the difficult period that she and her husband endured have left their scars. The walls are book-lined and the apartment is quite modest.”

Mrs. Deri:

“There are public people with a mad lifestyle and yet no one says a word. What made the house for us is part of the persecution against him. It was part of the lies that were said when they wanted to remove him from politics. We cannot escape the scars but today, it is behind us.”

“In truth, there was never a time when I wanted Aryeh to enter politics. It was not my ideal situation. I remember when Aryeh began his political carrier, we were young and let’s put it this way, they didn’t ask me back then. It contradicted my personal ambitions. I dreamed to marry a yeshiva bochur who would continue sitting and learning, perhaps establish a yeshiva, to have an influence — that very same influence that he had but in a more spiritual realm.

“I anticipated an avreich who would go and learn each day and return home to be there for me and the children. It was difficult for me. Suddenly, he was not there. What gave me considerable strength to continue was Rav Ovadia. My husband saw my plight, the difficulty, and he spoke with Rav Ovadia who called me and said ‘Listen Yaffa, I know your aspirations and expectations but what did you think Aryeh would become a rosh yeshiva, a major talmid chacham? Do you know what he is doing now? He is a rosh yeshiva 1,000 times over. He is a talmid chacham 1,000 times over. In his merit, there are dozens of roshei yeshiva’”

“Those words sunk in deep and influenced me. They encouraged me and provided me with the strength to inner peace with his entering politics.”

She goes on to explain that during his criminal trial she learned to respect him even more. “I saw how they persecuted him and I knew why. I knew the truth inside and as a result, held him in even higher regard. I saw his true strength and I understood with more clarity his leadership qualities. I recall on one day when someone asked how he continues to assist a certain rosh yeshiva even though he speaks against him. Aryeh said ‘I am not assisting him but his talmidim. He teaches in a yeshiva.’ He solved so many problems and addressed the most difficult of issues. In one of the visits to Massiyahu [Prison] he pulled out eyeglasses and asked me to have them repaired. He told me ‘these are from a lone prisoner, one without any family. He is all alone and does not have anyone who will fix these for him’. I was pleased to return on my next visit with the repaired eyeglasses in hand.”

“When he returned home I realized that business is not among his strong points. I never saw him get overly excited speaking about business. He was born to lead and that has been his aspiration.”

“He was born to build a bridge between the frum, non-frum, and the chareidim. Between chareidim and other chareidim. Between the simply people and the greater ones. Between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He has these qualities. He possesses them. He brought about shalom between two rabbonim when he was 16-years-old, between Rav Ovadia and Rav Addis.

“In today’s politics there is more cynicism and less truth as was the case in the past. Voters can jump from [Labor Party leader] Shelly Yacimovich to [Bayit HaYehudi leader] Naftali Bennett. There is no truth in the campaigns. The issues lack clarity. Politics has changed and it’s all about honor and prestige. More of us fall prisoner to the image and it’s all about the external. There is no depth and everything is wrapped in the external, how you look in business and how successful you are.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)