"We made a revolution in Judea and Samaria because we sat on the budget": Smotrich explains why he is finance minister
Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich intends to demand again the Finance portfolio and the role of minister within the Defense Ministry. At a house party, he explained how he used control over the budget to advance his policies, including delaying IDF chief of staff pensions as leverage against the military.
Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich intends to demand again the Finance portfolio and the role of minister within the Defense Ministry if Benjamin Netanyahu forms a new government. Smotrich said at the "People of the State" conference of ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth that he would be happy to continue in these roles. At a house party in the Har Homa neighborhood in Jerusalem a week and a half ago, he explained his working method: "90 percent of the time I devoted to the Finance Ministry, that was the business. Ten percent I devoted to the Defense Ministry and there we made the revolution in Judea and Samaria." According to him, control over the state budget allowed him to operate also in education and settlement areas. As an example, he noted that he delayed approval of IDF chief of staff pensions because the military and Defense Ministry delayed transferring authorities to the deputy head of the Civil Administration he appointed.