Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel Yoel Smotrich is an Israeli politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the Religious Zionist Party, he previously served as a Knesset member for the Jewish Home and Yamina, leaving in 2023 after resigning under the Norwegian Law, allowing him to remain a minister in the government while his seat in the Knesset could be taken by another candidate from his party.
Standing...
Stories...
Sep 28, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is advancing settlement expansion and withholding funds from the Palestinian Authority while pushing for more settlement construction.
Hadash sees him as the architect of de facto annexation and economic strangulation of Palestinians, and demands he be treated as a war-crimes suspect, not a coalition partner.
Sep 28, 2026
Far Left
The Israeli finance minister is pushing the E1 colonization project, which an Israeli court delayed to avoid disrupting legislative elections.
LFI condemns the cynical timing and reaffirms its support for Palestinian rights against annexation and colonization.
Sep 27, 2026
Lean Left
The Religious Zionism leader is pushing settlement expansion and blocking Palestinian economic measures, directly challenging any hostage deal framework.
The left sees him as the architect of de facto annexation and the main obstacle to any diplomatic progress, a minister who should be in opposition, not in government.
Sep 27, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is advancing settlement expansion and withholding funds from Arab municipalities.
Hadash views Smotrich as a settler supremacist using the Finance Ministry to punish Arab citizens and entrench occupation.
Sep 26, 2026
Far Right
Received public credit from Netanyahu for Israel's thriving economy after three years of war.
Smotrich is the ideological anchor of Religious Zionism in the cabinet; his economic record is being elevated as proof that the right delivers for working Israelis.
Sep 26, 2026
Center
As finance minister and Religious Zionism leader he is central to the settlement and judicial overhaul agenda that the opposition blames for the political crisis.
Yesh Atid treats Smotrich as the architect of policies that prioritize settlement expansion and Haredi exemptions over the broad Israeli public and the economy.
Sep 26, 2026
Lean Left
The finance minister and Religious Zionism leader is pushing settlement expansion and blocking funds while demanding the Haredi draft law pass on his terms.
The left blames Smotrich for both the economic squeeze and the far-right annexation agenda, and his budget threats are a rallying cry for the opposition.
Sep 26, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich announced new settlement construction and threatened to annex West Bank territories in response to international pressure.
Hadash accuses Smotrich of pursuing a de facto annexation that destroys any possibility of a two-state solution and violates international law.
Sep 24, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich continues to push settlement expansion and annexation rhetoric, drawing international condemnation.
Labor and Meretz see him as the chief architect of apartheid policies and a threat to any future two-state solution, and they demand he be removed from power.
Sep 24, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich has blocked funds to Arab municipalities and advanced settlement expansion in the West Bank, while threatening to collapse the government if a ceasefire is reached.
Hadash condemns Smotrich's racist policies and calls for an end to the occupation, holding him responsible for apartheid and economic discrimination.