Religious Zionist Party

2026 budget reading puts government at risk, after months of ideological sparring - analysis

If the vote is postponed, or if the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties choose not to support it and it falls, then for all intents and purposes the government will fall with it.

A PLENUM session at the Knesset.
ISRAELI POLITICIAN Bezalel Smotrich is seen before President Donald Trump speaks to the Knesset, on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.

Two protesters held outside Religious Zionist Party offices amid budget, cost-of-living tension

A man lights a cigarette with fire from a burning picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Israelis rally in support of the nationwide protests happening in Iran, in Holon, Israel, January 14, 2026.

Majority of Israelis favor joint US-Israel action against Iran - poll

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks at the annual Cyber Week, at Tel Aviv University, December 9, 2025

Bennett's draft law pitch brings in support as opposition bloc maintains lead over Netanyahu - poll


N13 poll: Next PM is toss up between Gantz or Bennett

A News 13 poll indicates National Unity Party led by Benny Gantz wins 30 seats if elections held today. Likud strengthens slightly; Yesh Atid receives 15 seats.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) meets with Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 5, 2024.

Smotrich shouted off stage at conference of right-wing newspaper

Audience members at Yisrael Hayom conference shout at Finance Minister about how can he "sleep at night" with 133 hostages still being held in Gaza.

 FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party.

Zvi Sukkot: 'After the war - we will promote settlement in the Gaza Strip'

When asked who would be in charge of Gaza after the war, Zvi Sukkot said, "I can tell you who would not be, not the PA, not Hamas, and not any other party that will commit terrorism."

 Zvi Sukkot attends a Religious Zionist Party meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem ,January 23, 2023.

Shelving contentious law on local rabbis signals unity discourse is not all talk - analysis

The reason Likud MKs gave for opposing the bill: not wanting to raise issues now that would split the country.

 MK ARYE DERI leads a parliamentary faction meeting of his Shas party, in the Knesset, last month.

Some religious-Zionists see Gaza as a holy war

It’s a vision starkly at odds with Israel’s mainstream, even as the country’s political center has shifted discernibly to the Right in recent years.

 ISRAELIS MARCH near the southern town of Sderot, near the northern Gaza Strip as they take part in the Harel march in support of re-settling the Gaza Strip, on February 29.

Israeli MK: Fresh US sanctions 'delusional, disgraceful, and ugly'

Israeli politicians slam US sanctions on West Bank farms and individuals, decrying foreign intervention.

 MK Zvi Sukkot attends a Religious Zionist Party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem ,January 23, 2023

Pushing for Gaza resettlement harms core values, solidarity with Jewish people - opinion

For many, including those within the religious community themselves, the timing and backdrop for such an event could not have been more wrong.

 National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir seen at the Knesset on January 31, 2024

Who are the three National Religious lists in Jerusalem's elections?

For religious Jerusalemites who generally define themselves as National Religious, there are three representative lists running for city council in the elections set for the end of this month

 A man casts his vote in the Israeli general elections, at a polling station in Jerusalem, on November 1, 2022.

Netanyahu, Smotrich squabble over hostage deal talks, Palestinian Authority funds

The Likud and the Religious Zionist party exchanged barbs about policies against Hamas and the handling of the budget.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. January 11, 2023.

Israel-Hamas war: Israel's finance minister can't handle a wartime economy - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: Bezalel Smotrich's utter misunderstanding of wartime economics proves Israel's finance minister should never have been appointed in the first place.

 FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party.