Bezalel Smotrich

Betzalel Yoel Smotrich (Hebrew: בצלאל יואל סמוטריץ'‎‎, born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli politician. A member of the Tkuma, he currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home.

Smotrich was born in the Golan Heights and grew up in the Beit El settlement in the West Bank. His father was a rabbi and Smotrich received a religious education, attending Mercaz HaRav Kook, Yashlatz and Yeshivat Kedumim. He studied law at university.

He was arrested during protests against the disengagement plan in 2005, and was held in jail for three weeks but not charged. In 2006, he helped organise the "Beast Parade" as part of protests against a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, although he later admitted regret at the incident.

Political career

In the buildup to the 2015 Knesset elections he won second place on the Tkuma list after party leader Uri Ariel. The party contested the elections as part of the Jewish Home, with Smotrich placed eighth on its list for the elections. He was elected to the Knesset as the party won eight seats.

Legislation

Smotrich initiated the following legislation which passed in the Knesset:

• In addition to government ministers and Knesset members; judges, senior military personnel, and police officers would also have to declare their capital every six years.

• ^ Jewish Home faction Tekumah selects Knesset candidates Times of Israel, 12 January 2015
• Jewish Home hopeful boasts of being ‘proud homophobe’ Times of Israel, 24 February 2015
• The Jewish Home list Central Elections Committee
• Final Unofficial* results of the Elections for the Twentieth Knesset Central Elections Committee
• Milman, Omri (November 7, 2016). "The Knesset Approved: Judges and Senior Officers will Submit a Declaration of Capital" (in Hebrew). Retrieved November 8, 2016. 

Nationalism

In July 2015 Smotrich caused a controversy by declaring in a Knesset Interior meeting that developers in Israel should not have to sell homes to Arabs. The meeting took place following accusations that Galil Homes refused to sell homes to Arabs in Ma'alot, a northern Israeli town. Smotrich defended the developer, saying that "anyone who wants to protect the Jewish People and opposes mixed marriages is not a racist. Whoever wants to let Jews live a Jewish life without non-Jews is not a racist." He added that Jews are the ones deprived in Israel because "“they don’t get free land in the Negev,” a reference to Bedouin. "I believe in God’s words. I prefer that Jews make a living and wouldn't sell a house to Arabs."

Anti-LGBT position

Smotrich opposes gay marriage. In 2015, he referred to LGBT people as abnormal, stating "At home, everyone can be abnormal and people can form whatever family unit they want, But they can’t make demands from me, as the state." In the same discussion he told the audience "I am a proud homophobe". He later apologized and retracted his statement saying "someone shouted from the crowd and I responded inattentively". In July 2015, after Jerusalem LGBT pride stabbing, he called it a beast parade and refused to retract his homophobic remarks. In August 2015, Smotrich accused LGBT organisations of controlling the media, claiming they use their control to gain public sympathy and silence those who share his views. An Israeli NGO Ometz filed a complaint to Knesset Ethics Committee to intervene and investigate Smotrich's comments.

Proposed changes to law system

Smotrich is a co-sponsor of proposed legislation change stating that sources of Jewish tradition such as the Torah have to be considered when dealing with legal matters that cannot be decided by legislation or court rulings. Other sponsors of are Miki Zohar from Likud, Yoav Ben-Tzur from Shas and Nissan Slomiansky from The Jewish Home.

Hospital room segregation between Jews and Arabs

In April 2016 Bezalel Smotrich tweeted that he supports segregation of Arab and Jewish women in hospital's maternity wards, writing:

"After giving birth, my wife wants to rest and not have a party like Arab women do after giving birth."

and

"It is natural that my wife would not want to lay down next to someone who just gave birth to a baby might want to murder her baby in another 20 years."

These tweets were met with angry responses from Israeli politicians, including opposition leader Isaac Herzog, and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett.

Smotrich is married with five children, and lives in the Kedumim settlement in the West Bank.