Bezalel Smotrich

Bezalel Yoel Smotrich is an <a href="/facts/Far-right_politics_in_Israel/1sYKy57C">Israeli far-right</a> politician and lawyer who has served as the <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Finance_(Israel)/XPKVsRNw">Minister of Finance</a> since 2022. The leader of the <a href="/facts/National_Religious_Party%25E2%2580%2593Religious_Zionism/psNnrNVk">National Religious Party–Religious Zionism</a>, he previously served as a <a href="/facts/Knesset/vNAUyDAu">Knesset</a> member for <a href="/facts/The_Jewish_Home/4jmH4WFP">the Jewish Home</a> and <a href="/facts/Yamina/xmKA847z">Yamina</a>, leaving in 2023 after resigning under the <a href="/facts/Norwegian_Law_(Israel)/Lt7DAC3D">Norwegian Law</a>, allowing him to remain a minister in the government while his seat in the Knesset could be taken by another candidate from his party.
Smotrich is a settler in the <a href="/facts/Israeli_occupied_territories/FxQkx2V8">Israeli-occupied</a> <a href="/facts/West_Bank/xzTTVNJl">West Bank</a>, living in the settlement of <a href="/facts/Kedumim/cbEuP3KM">Kedumim</a>, which is <a href="/facts/International_law_and_Israeli_settlements/wkvxfFR5">illegal under international law</a>. His residence was also built illegally outside the settlement proper.
Smotrich's statements, often dubbed "racist" and "homophobic", have led to several controversies. He is a supporter of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, opposes <a href="/facts/Palestinian_statehood/KTKke3zl">Palestinian statehood</a>, and <a href="/facts/Palestinian_identity/66uT867m">denies the existence</a> of a <a href="/facts/Palestinians/DBnkAQ5l">Palestinian</a> people. As minister with powers in the occupied Palestinian territories, he has led clandestine Israeli efforts to annex territories in the West Bank, first as a fait accompli, then by force of law.

Bezalel Smotrich open-in-new

Bezalel Smotrich