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 19, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich advances settlement expansion and racist laws while serving as finance minister.
Hadash condemns his far-right agenda that entrenches apartheid and undermines any possibility of Palestinian statehood.
Sep 18, 2026
Far Right
The Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader is not directly cited today, but his party's agenda on settlement expansion and judicial reform remains central to the news backdrop.
Smotrich is the chief political vehicle for Religious Zionism, and his push to fund settlements while defending haredi education from funding cuts is the pivot around which today's topics turn.
Sep 18, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich, Finance Minister and far-right leader, is pushing settlement expansion and budget cuts to social services.
Labor/Meretz condemn him as a racist and fascist who is destroying the economy and any chance for peace.
Sep 18, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is promoting settlement expansion and has been given control over civil administration in the West Bank.
Hadash denounces Smotrich as a racist who is actively working to annex the West Bank and deny Palestinian rights.
Sep 16, 2026
Center
Launched the 'Unblocking the Blockage' campaign featuring an AI video of Supreme Court and attorney general figures being dragged through burning streets, making judicial overhaul a precondition for any future coalition.
Yesh Atid views him as the single greatest threat to Israeli democracy and the rule of law, a minister who uses state resources to campaign for the destruction of the judiciary.
Sep 16, 2026
Lean Left
The Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader is advancing West Bank annexation measures and threatening to bring down the government if a hostage deal includes significant Palestinian concessions.
Labor and Meretz view Smotrich as the most dangerous figure in the government, a far-right ideologue whose annexation push destroys any remaining hope for a two-state solution.
Sep 16, 2026
Far Left
Announcing new settlement approvals and pushing to legalize illegal outposts in the West Bank.
Hadash condemns him as an architect of apartheid and annexation, and the main driver of settler violence against Palestinians.
Sep 15, 2026
Far Right
The finance minister and Religious Zionism leader is advancing settlement expansion and judicial reform.
Smotrich is the architect of the judicial overhaul and settlement enterprise, deeply valued by religious Zionists for asserting Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
Sep 15, 2026
Center
Ynet's op-ed calls him out for sacrificing the country's economic future on messianic faith and coalition stability.
Yesh Atid treats him as the single biggest threat to Israel's middle class, framing his budget as a transfer from hospitals and teachers to settlement ideology.
Sep 15, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is advancing settlement expansion and legalizing outposts in the West Bank as a price for keeping Religious Zionism in the coalition.
Meretz and Labor see Smotrich as the architect of de facto annexation that destroys any chance of a two-state solution and entrenches the occupation.