The phrase shelf party () refers to a political party that is legally registered but not active, and can be purchased to convert it into a new party. Shelf parties are widely used in Israeli politics to bypass lengthy registration processes.
One instance is Homat Torat Yisrael, which is a faction within United Torah Judaism which was formed in September 2026 using an inactive party. Sometimes, these parties keep their original name after the takeover; New Right was officially known as "Tzalash", which is the name of the shelf party which was used. Otzma Yehudit used Eretz Yisrael Shelanu as a shelf party in September 2026 to gain more funding units. The party has used shelf parties previously.
A shelf party is also used to allow people to legally switch their parties after the election. Examples for the latter include Democratic Choice in 2020 and Ahi in 2019.
See also Fake party Taxi party
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