Bezalel Smotrich

Tax Authority will immediately stop war damage claims until Bnei Brak mayor condemns mob attacks

According to the letter, Tax Authority employees were violently assaulted by a mob numbering in the hundreds on the afternoon of July 16 while carrying out enforcement activities in the city.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against the jailing of seminary students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order on Road 4 near Bnei Brak, July 16, 2026.
Minister of Finance and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Ganz, Head of Binyamin Regional Council and Orit Strock, National Mission Minister at a faction meeting in the Jewish settlement of Givat Harel, in the West Bank, February 14, 2023.

Israeli gov't gives Jordan Valley farmers drones, rangers to deter 'Palestinian terror state'

Naftali Bennett

'Desecrating religious Zionism': Bennett slams Smotrich as true architect of draft evasion law

Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer speaks during a Memorial Day ceremony commemorating fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terror at Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery in Tel Aviv, April 21, 2026.

Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer pulls out of 2026 election


Smotrich cancels visit to Kibbutz Be'eri following opposition by hostages' families, residents

During an interview for Nadav Perry's podcast on Sunday, Smotrich claimed a critical role in how the war played out and in bringing back the hostages from Gaza.

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

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

Speaking with Gideon Oko and Amichai Atali on 103FM radio, Miran criticized Smotrich over his conduct during the two years in which Israelis were held in Gaza.

RELEASED ISRAELI hostage Omri Miran, with his father Dani, October 28, 2025.

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

The Tax Authority warns that the move will entail a revenue loss of NIS 8.5 billion per year, which would be funded by cuts or an increased deficit.

Yitzhak Goldknopf

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

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he drew a line with Netanyahu and had a necessary role in returning the hostages after October 7.

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

Eisenkot files petition demanding Smotrich remove 'manipulative' AI-generated video

Eisenkot’s petition accused Smotrich of attempting to “spread hatred, lies, and mislead voters,” stating that “there is no place for lying, deception, and manipulation in the current election system.

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, holds a press conference with the party’s new member Yoram Cohen in Tel Aviv, May 5, 2026.

Marathon Knesset meetings set to rapidly advance haredi parties’ contentious Torah study bill

The bill seeks to enshrine Torah study in the country’s Basic Law as part of a proposal that critics argue encourages draft evasion and changes the status of yeshiva students who do not serve.

MKS ATTEND a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2026.

Grapevine, June 21, 2026: Peace, a distant dream - opinion

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

Danna Azrieli (8th from left) with Ziv Koren, Noam Horev and former hostages .

Netanyahu: IDF will exact 'very heavy price' from Hezbollah after deaths of four soldiers

"I told the Prime Minister, even in our private meetings: For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep," Ben-Gvir wrote on X/Twitter.

Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade

Editor's Notes: Israel just met the America that comes after Trump - comment

Here is a bet you can hold me to. The respect from the US lasts. The protection that used to come with it does not, and it gets tested before the year is out, probably in Lebanon.

US VICE President JD Vance and President Donald Trump listen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, April 23, 2026, during an earlier round of talks. Trump leads now; Vance and Rubio are next. Israel was in the room as an ambassador, not a principal.