Bezalel Smotrich

Bezalel Smotrich was born in 1981 in Haspin

Smotrich was born in Haspin in the Golan Heights and grew up in Beit El. His father, Haim Yeruham Smotrich, is an Orthodox rabbi, and his mother, Yocheved, is a teacher. His family name comes from the town of Smotrych, where his ancestors lived.

He studied at religious schools and at Yeshivat Kedumim. He earned a law degree from Ono Academic College and began a master's degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem but did not complete it. He is a licensed lawyer.

In 2005, during protests against the Gaza disengagement, he was arrested and held for 3 weeks, then released without charges. In 2006 he co-founded Regavim and later headed Yeshivat Kedumim. He is married to Revital and they have 7 children.

He entered the Knesset in 2015 with the Jewish Home and won the leadership of National Union-Tkuma in 2019. He served as Minister of Transport from 2019. In 2022 he became Minister of Finance and was later given authority over civil affairs in the West Bank.

In 2025 several governments, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Norway, imposed sanctions on him. They accused him of inciting settler violence, and he and the United States criticized the decision.