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 23, 2026
Far Right
He is not mentioned in the current articles but remains a key figure for the Religious Zionism base, particularly on West Bank sovereignty and settlement expansion, which are always salient background issues.
Religious Zionism sees Smotrich as its primary voice in government, and his push for sovereignty and settlement growth defines the camp's agenda even when not in the headlines.
Sep 23, 2026
Lean Right
The Religious Zionism leader and Finance Minister influences West Bank policy and judicial appointments.
Smotrich is the driving force behind settlement expansion and judicial reform, and Likud voters appreciate his ideological consistency even when it draws international condemnation.
Sep 23, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is driving the sovereignty agenda and conditioning budget transfers on settlement expansion.
The left views him as the architect of de facto annexation and the main obstacle to any diplomatic horizon with the Palestinians.
Sep 23, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is advancing settlement expansion and withholding Palestinian tax revenues, drawing international condemnation.
Hadash condemns Smotrich as the financier of annexation and apartheid, and calls for sanctions against his far-right agenda.
Sep 22, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich has been advancing settlement planning and withholding Palestinian Authority tax revenues, drawing sharp international criticism.
The left blames him for entrenching occupation and for provoking the international isolation that Labor and Meretz argue is the biggest strategic threat to Israel.
Sep 22, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich pushes for expanded settlement construction and opposes any Palestinian statehood as a precondition for peace.
Hadash condemns Smotrich's annexationist agenda as a war crime and an obstacle to any just resolution of the conflict.
Sep 20, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is pushing settlement expansion and defending settler violence while blocking funds to the Palestinian Authority.
Labor/Meretz sees him as an architect of annexation and a direct threat to any two-state horizon.
Sep 20, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is advancing settlement expansion and blocking Palestinian construction in Area C, while threatening to leave the coalition over the draft law.
Hadash identifies Smotrich as a key driver of apartheid policies and a threat to any two-state solution.
Sep 19, 2026
Center
Ynet's article 24 discusses the fallout from his latest video and how to stop such videos from spreading.
Yesh Atid treats Smotrich as the face of the far-right's provocative politics that inflames both the West Bank and Israel's international standing, and as a reason the current coalition must be replaced.
Sep 19, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich keeps pushing settlement expansion and has floated plans for Israeli civilian return to Gaza.
For the center-left, he is the architect of de facto annexation and the main obstacle to any two-state revival.