Bezalel Smotrich

Compensation of millions of shekels for protection racket victims

The government approved the Finance Minister's proposal to provide an economic safety net for victims of protection fees amounting to tens of millions of shekels.

A gasoline bottle hung at the entrance to a factory in Hatzor Haglilit
RELEASED ISRAELI hostage Omri Miran, with his father Dani, October 28, 2025.

'You don't protect me': Former hostage's father shouts at Smotrich mid-speech

Yitzhak Goldknopf

Discussion on Goldknopf’s proposal to lower VAT postponed by two weeks

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, May 19, 2026.

Smotrich claims hostages returned thanks to his opposition to earlier Gaza deal


Israel creeps toward West Bank annexation as election season approaches - opinion

The de facto annexation of the West Bank is the natural byproduct of a political system where words are cheap and real power operates without transparency.

A Palestinian man walks past a fence decorated with Israeli flags installed by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank. The de facto annexation of the West Bank is the natural byproduct of a political system where words are cheap and real power operates without transparency, the writer says.

If the political elite keep performing for cameras, Israel will never be able to heal - editorial

Since October 7, opposition figures have argued that they would have governed, prepared, and responded better than Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition.

A VIEW of Kibbutz Be’eri shows a destroyed home from a world left behind on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists, Palestinian civilians, UNWRA workers, and media members infiltrated Gaza border communities and massacred 1,200 people.

Hamas allegedly asked Mansour Abbas to ensure Netanyahu's re-election in 2021 - report

The official reportedly believed that "Netanyahu was looking for continued calm and quiet understandings, while a new government would be dragged into an operation in the Gaza Strip."

Ra'am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 12, 2026.

Former PM Naftali Bennett won't boycott Ben-Gvir or Smotrich, leaked recordings reveal

In addition to saying he would not boycott the far-right ministers, Bennett was heard in the recordings describing Ben-Gvir as a "very unserious person" and Smotrich as "very combative."

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett attends a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 17, 2026

Women's integration into IDF 'disaster': Rabbis send letter to Netanyahu demanding intervention

The letter came in response to the military’s new program, which would include women in the Armored Corps. It was written by leading rabbis in the religious Zionist sector.

 There is a high demand for combat roles among women in the November-December 2023 draft

UN Security Council calls urgent meeting to discuss recent Israeli West Bank policies

The session, initiated by the British Foreign Secretary, comes less than a week after the Israeli government reopened land registration in Area C for the first time since 1967.

Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, US, February 18, 2026.

Smotrich doubles down on refusal to enlist daughter, claims IDF is 'no place for women'

In an interview, Smotrich also addressed his comments on crime rates in Arab communities, saying, "There is a culture of murder, killing, and jihad in Arab society."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrives to a conference of the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon in Jerusalem, December 25, 2025

Smotrich announces intention to abolish Oslo Accords, dismantle PA during next term

Smotritch suggested the dismantling of the PA in favor of creating a new military administration to govern the area, with the ultimate aim of applying full Israeli sovereignty over the region.

Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026.

Knesset panel advances bill to expand rabbinical courts’ power over civil matters

Critics have warned of the bill's democratic implications, including those involving women's rights, which may deepen the rift between the haredi and secular communities.

THE RABBINICAL Court’s Division for Agunot in Jerusalem.

Israel should enact the Ben-Gvir death penalty law - opinion

Murder rates continue to rise, not just since the October 7 massacre, and Israel cannot afford to be lenient if it wishes to survive.

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir during a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on November 10, 2025.