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...
Jul 30, 2026
Lean Left
Finance Minister advancing budget cuts for social programs and funding illegal outposts.
Criticized for prioritizing settlement expansion over economic equality and diplomatic solutions.
Jul 30, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich is advancing new settlement outposts in the West Bank, defying U.S. calls to restrain construction.
Hadash criticizes Smotrich for using his position to de facto annex the West Bank, eroding any chance for a Palestinian state and further entrenching the occupation.
Jul 29, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is advancing plans for de facto annexation of the West Bank through settlement expansions and Palestinian land seizures.
Labor/Meretz condemns Smotrich as a messianic extremist whose annexation agenda isolates Israel and fuels a future one-state reality.
Jul 29, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich pushes to legalize dozens of illegal outposts in the West Bank.
Seen as the architect of de facto annexation, undermining any chance for peace.
Jul 28, 2026
Far Right
As leader of Religious Zionism, Smotrich is linked to the policy of establishing new outposts rapidly after the Havat Gilad terror attack.
He is praised for driving settlement expansion and asserting Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
Jul 28, 2026
Center
Smotrich defended settler violence as a minor phenomenon and attacked criticism as a false anti-Semitic campaign.
Yesh Atid condemns Smotrich for normalizing settler extremism and undermining the rule of law in the West Bank.
Jul 28, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is pushing a budget that slashes funds for Arab municipalities while boosting West Bank settlements.
From a Labor/Meretz standpoint, Smotrich’s discriminatory budget deepens inequality and undermines any hope for a two-state solution.
Jul 28, 2026
Far Left
Announces new funding for illegal outposts in the West Bank.
Hadash sees his budget as a direct theft of Palestinian land and a violation of international law.
Jul 26, 2026
Center
He is leading Religious Zionism primaries this week, hoping to produce a list that appeals beyond his hardline base after defections to Liberman.
Yesh Atid views his efforts as a sign of a far-right party in disarray, struggling to balance extremism with electoral pragmatism, which works in their favor.
Jul 26, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich blocks humanitarian aid to Gaza and expands settlement construction, defying international and security establishment warnings.
Labor/Meretz condemns Smotrich for prioritizing annexation over Israeli security, accusing him of deepening the conflict and isolating Israel diplomatically.