Some may think it an exaggeration to consider Israel's current Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, the most dangerous figure in Israel, especially given the presence of more overtly extreme personalities in Netanyahu's current government, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir seemingly at the fore. However, this description indeed comes after a thorough follow-up and in-depth study of this man's personality, history, and his modus operandi, transforming from an obscure extremist struggling to break into the political arena, to the most powerful leader among the extreme right-wing echelons in Israel. One should not be misled into thinking that I am praising Smotrich in this commentary, or considering him superhuman. Rather, I warn that a study of his political career reveals that his danger goes beyond the calm demeanor he presents in the media. We must first understand Smotrich's roots and the nature of his upbringing. He descends from Ukrainian origins; his family name (Smotrich) actually comes from his ancestral town, the small town of "Smotrich," situated on the river of the same name in western Ukraine, merely 60 kilometers from the Moldovan border, and once a hub for Ashkenazi Jews. Smotrich has a clear project, and there's ample evidence to back this. Long ago, he set his sights on influential ministries. In the 34th government headed by Netanyahu, he asked for the Justice Ministry and was refused; he then requested the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs (which deals with Jews abroad) and was again rebuffed. His father (Chaim Yerucham), a religious rabbi, served in several synagogues and moved to the Golan following its occupation, where he was appointed as rabbi of the religious settlement (Haspin) located in the southern Golan Heights. It was there in 1980 that Smotrich was born. His father later moved to the settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah in the West Bank, where Bezalel grew up. In 2007 his father became the rabbi of the settlement of Beit Yatir in the Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank, a position he still holds today. Bezalel, as is apparent from his upbringing, was raised as a settler in one of the most hardcore settlements of the West Bank (Beit El), educated in Ashkenazi religious institutes in Jerusalem, and raised by his father on extremist religious doctrines. His father, known for his political religious activity in the former party, Tkuma – National Union, is a firm believer in the theory of Jewish purity between the river and the sea, which Bezalel has inherited. Married to a settler who shares his ideologies and father to seven children, Smotrich currently resides in the settlement of Kedumim, erected on lands of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. His house in Kedumim is located outside the settlement's organizational framework; he operates on his belief in the boundlessness of settlements in the West Bank and disbelieves in settlements' regulations. Thus, he built his private home in a place considered outside the administrative organization of the settlement, and then annexed it to it. In essence, Smotrich epitomizes the phrase "settler through and through": born, lived, and continues to live in the settlements situated in the territories occupied in '67, never experiencing city life within the territories seized in '48. The principles he embraces concerning the West Bank settlements have been lived throughout his life and continue to do so. ## Why is Smotrich Considered the Most Dangerous Man in Israel Today? Smotrich's hardline upbringing, which began early in his life—as a settler living in areas not recognized by the UN as being under occupation—imbued him with ideas saturated with what he perceives as the "victimhood of settlers" in the West Bank. They are "strugglers" fighting for "the preservation of the land of Israel" against the Palestinians, while secular Jews within the major coastal cities enjoy all the benefits. Through this lens, Smotrich saw academic work as insufficient for his religious and national aspirations, compared to the potential effects of engaging politically. This led him to abandon his master's studies and enter political life through the party Tkuma (the Religious Zionist party), under the leadership of Uri Ariel. He rapidly rose within its ranks and entered the Knesset in 2015 as a deputy for this party, but on the list of the Jewish Home party then led by Naftali Bennett. His ascent continued until January 2019, when he succeeded in ousting Uri Ariel from the leadership of Tkuma and took control of it in internal elections. Since that time, Smotrich has become an influential player in Israeli domestic politics, when he contributed to the merger of Tkuma and Jewish Home, into the Union of Right-Wing Parties in 2019 (he believes in the necessity of religious right unity against Israeli secular leftism). Following the union's dissolution after the elections, he merged his party with Yamina, led by Bennett, to contest the next elections in 2019 and again in 2020, only to later split off with the Religious Zionist party he heads in the 2021 elections and secure four seats for the first time under the Bennett-Lapid administration. He then managed to increase his party's seat count to seven in the 2022 elections, after forming a duo with Ben-Gvir, leader of the Kahanist party Otzma Yehudit, and entered Netanyahu's current government as the Finance Minister, while Ben-Gvir joined as the Minister of National Security. Smotrich has fashioned himself as a strong leader of the Religious Zionist movement, convincing the Jewish Home party to dissolve itself and gathering several right-wing parties under the new party he announced on August 20, 2023, named: (Religious National Party – Religious Zionism), hence becoming the leader of extreme right-wing extremism. He is the epitome of someone who has turned a weak small party into a strong one with influential members, by climbing on the back of other right-wing parties before incorporating them all under his wing. When we say that Smotrich has a clear project, there is plenty of evidence: he set his eyes on influential ministries long ago, in Netanyahu's 34th government, he asked for the Justice Ministry but was refused; he then requested the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which was also denied to him, so Netanyahu gave him the Ministry of Transportation instead, which wasn’t satisfying his ambitions. But he leveraged Netanyahu’s need in his latest government in November 2022, insisting upon and subsequently obtaining the Finance Ministry. The ministries he desires all facilitate serving the settlement project and the settlers, either by helping settlers with expansion and avoiding legal complications (through the Ministry of Justice), or by establishing relationships with Jews abroad to assist in settlement construction (through the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs), or by controlling the money and budgets directly (through the Finance Ministry). He is one of the architects of the "Reasonableness Law," which limits the courts' ability to stop laws and decisions made by the government. His power on the right stems from building his reputation as a man of integrity; he proposed legislation requiring ministers and officials to declare their financial statements every six years, thus projecting the image of a man of utmost integrity to his support base. Finally, Smotrich achieved his dream in Netanyahu's current government and gained the Finance Ministry; he is now in control of the state's budget. He decided to halt the transfer of tax funds to the Palestinian Authority and recently stirred a storm around the budget, presenting one that overlooks war and reduces budgets for medicine and education in favor of financing coalition parties and settlement construction. This underscores his focus on his settlement project, unswayed and undistracted by any conditions. He publicly declares his views fearlessly; domestically, he sees secularism as an enemy and believes that the Torah should be the source of legislation in Israel, applying its rules where the law is silent. Therefore, he fiercely combats the secular leftist current with money and supports the religious current financially. Internationally, he believes that the only solution with the Palestinians is to accept living in subjugation under Israeli sovereignty: i.e., "enslavement" (a term, incidentally, some right-wing extremists use), or expulsion from the country, or death. Like his father, he does not believe in the presence of non-Jews between the river and the sea. He even extends his vision to Jordan, as he has when he published a photo of himself with a logo featuring the image of Jordan and Palestine. Smotrich does not recognize any boundaries to settlement. His solution for the West Bank: to flood it with settlements and settlers, forcing Palestinians to leave or die. And his proposed solution for Gaza: migration out of Gaza and full settlement in it, even presenting it in a humane package. He claims that the presence of settlements will halt resistance operations. He also promotes complete control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque but does not enter it in compliance with the chief rabbinate's ruling—a contradiction that reveals his religious adherence to rabbinical opinions. Smotrich is not like Ben-Gvir, whom some now dub the "TikTok Minister." Ben-Gvir relies on populist stances such as brandishing weapons, public confrontation, moving his office to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and loud outbursts, whereas Smotrich is quiet, swift to act, and reticent to speak. He even knows when to tactically retreat, as he did when he backed off from his attack on Israel's LGBT lobby in preparation for elections without publicly renouncing his convictions. He is a tactician, not a pragmatist. And therein lies his peril: he may eventually convince the wider right-wing current—not just the extreme right—under his leadership, surpassing his current ally Ben-Gvir and even Netanyahu. I would not rule out that this is among his future aspirations. Hence, if there is someone deserving of close monitoring, caution, and attention to his moves today, it is Smotrich. A politician of deranged principles but rational actions poses the greatest danger.
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