Religious Zionism Secures Extra State Funding via Party Registration Trick
Minister Orit Strock registered under a separate shelf party during the Knesset election submissions, securing an additional 1.2 million shekels annually in state funding for Religious Zionism under the Party Financing Law.
The Central Election Committee has officially received all party lists running in the upcoming elections, including the Religious Zionism party. However, during the registration process, Minister of National Missions Orit Strock, who won the primaries in the party center, was registered under a different party: "One Future - A Good Future for Israel". This move is expected to channel an additional permanent state funding of approximately 1.2 million shekels per year to the Religious Zionism party.
Those unfamiliar with the intricacies of election laws might assume this is illegal, but the Party Financing Law makes the maneuver, perceived by some as unethical, entirely legal.
How the Party Financing Law Works
According to the Party Financing Law's formula, the state does not pay parties a uniform sum, but rather builds the budget from financing units: a portion based on the number of members of Knesset, and a fixed portion granted simply because the party is registered and exists.
This exact mechanism is operating now in the case of Religious Zionism. Strock remains part of the list and the political bloc, but on paper, she is affiliated with a different party—"One Future - A Good Future for Israel"—instead of "National Union - Tkuma", under which most of the Religious Zionism party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich registered. Bottom line, this affiliation does not change the ballot nor the identity of the candidates the public sees, but it adds a line to the financing table. This is sometimes called a shelf party: it is registered, holds a name and a representative, and qualifies for an additional financing unit even if there is no separate independent body in practice.
Previous Precedents and Political Implications
It should be noted that Religious Zionism is not the only party to utilize this maneuver. Earlier, it was reported that Otzma Yehudit also used the trick, as Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf and MK Yitzhak Kroizer registered under "Our Land of Israel" instead of "National Jewish Front". Similar maneuvers were also carried out in previous elections by other parties.
The law was originally written to allow small and independent political bodies to exist without absolute dependence on private donors. In practice, the same formula allows an existing bloc to split itself formally and receive additional public funding. The potential price is organizational: a member registered in a separate party can split off later more easily compared to a defector from a single faction. Until then, as long as the list remains together, the practical result is simple: another registered party, another financing unit, and more state funds.
