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.
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Stories...
Jul 22, 2026
Far Left
Finance Minister advances annexation budgets and defunds Palestinian Authority services.
Condemned for using budget powers to entrench occupation, starve PA, and accelerate de facto apartheid.
Jul 22, 2026
Center
Says Israel has no interest in joining US campaign against Iran, but warns of possible strike.
Yesh Atid sees his casual attitude toward military action as irresponsible grandstanding.
Jul 21, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich announced new settlement outposts in the West Bank, defying US warnings and international law.
Condemned by Labor/Meretz as an extremist who is annexing the West Bank and undermining the two-state solution.
Jul 21, 2026
Far Left
The Israeli far-right finance minister marched to demand resettlement of Gaza alongside settlers.
Morena criticizes Smotrich for fueling illegal settlements and undermining peace in Palestine.
Jul 21, 2026
Far Left
As finance minister, Smotrich is advancing annexationist policies including settlement expansion and land confiscation in the West Bank.
Hadash views Smotrich as the architect of de facto apartheid, using his ministerial powers to entrench occupation and dispossess Palestinians.
Jul 19, 2026
Center
Accused of lying about the number of yeshiva students exempted from service.
Seen by Yesh Atid as a hypocrite who misrepresents religious Zionism to justify Haredi exemptions.
Jul 19, 2026
Lean Left
Smotrich is pushing a budget that slashes funds for Arab municipalities and diverts money to West Bank settlements.
Labor/Meretz see him as the architect of discriminatory fiscal policy that deepens inequality and annexation.
Jul 19, 2026
Far Left
Smotrich recently approved thousands of new settlement homes in the West Bank, defying international condemnation.
Smotrich embodies the far-right settler agenda that Hadash opposes, viewing annexation as a direct threat to peace and Palestinian rights.
Jul 18, 2026
Lean Right
The Jerusalem Supreme Rabbinical Court appointed three judges from Smotrich's Religious Zionist party.
Smotrich asserts influence over judicial appointments in religious courts, a move Likud allies embrace as strengthening traditional values in state institutions.
Jul 18, 2026
Lean Left
The finance minister pushed through a budget that slashes funds for Arab and left-wing municipalities while boosting settlements, and is pushing to annex the West Bank.
Smotrich is condemned by Labor/Meretz for using state funds to entrench occupation and deepen inequality between Jewish and Arab citizens.