The Small Parties: Perennials and Newcomers
A roundup of the small lists on the 27 Oct ballot, split into long-running perennials and this cycle's newcomers, with what each is selling.
Thirty-eight lists qualified for the 27 October 2026 Israeli ballot. About eleven have a real chance of winning seats, and the rest will not reach the 3.25% threshold. This page sorts the small lists into perennials and newcomers and says what each is selling.
Why the small parties matter
Thirty-eight lists qualified for the 27 Oct ballot. Eleven or so have a real chance of winning seats. The rest will split a small slice of the vote, and none of them will reach the 3.25% threshold. A list needs about 4 seats' worth of votes to get in. See the first article in this series for how that works. Every list's ballot letters are in Ballot Letters and How to Make Your Vote Count.
They still matter for three reasons.
- Wasted votes. Every ballot cast for a list that misses the threshold is thrown out of the seat count. That shrinks the denominator and helps the big blocs. Last time, wasted votes were large enough to shape who won.
- Near-misses. A few lists sit between 1% and 3%. Blue and White and the Reservists-Economic slate are examples. If one of them crosses, a bloc gains. If it doesn't, the votes vanish.
- Color. Some lists exist to make a point, sell an idea or get a headline. Israeli politics has always had a fringe, and it is a window into what people feel the main parties ignore.
This article splits the field in two. First, the perennials: lists and brands that keep coming back. Then the newcomers: lists born in this cycle. Each gets its shtick, meaning what it is really selling.
The bigger names are already covered. See the individual profiles for Amcha Yisrael, the Reservists-Economic slate, the Haredi Public Party, Noam and Israel First.
The perennials
These are brands voters have seen before.
| List | Leader | Shtick | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue and White | Benny Gantz | The fading centrist. Is the remains of the National Unity alliance, which won 12 seats in 2022. Its Knesset faction was down to four MKs by 5 May 2026. Pitches a "broad Zionist government without extremists" and says Netanyahu should leave office. Sources differ on whether he has flatly ruled out serving under him. See the full Blue and White profile. | Polling around 1.4% to 1.9% (August snapshot). Below the threshold. |
| Pirate Party | Ohad Shem-Tov; Dan Ariely and Noam Kuzar front the 2026 list | Direct democracy through technology: citizens vote on decisions during the term, not just on Election Day. Pirate hats on filing day. | Founded 2012. First ran in 2013 and won just over 2,000 votes, its best ever. Has never come close. |
| Balad | Sami Abu Shehadeh (withdrew from the Joint List slate on 2 Oct) | Secular Arab nationalism. Ran alone in 2022 and missed the threshold. | Now inside the Joint List. See that profile. |
| Noam | Avi Maoz | Religious Zionist party that says it stands for traditional family values. Many news outlets call it far-right. | Profiled separately. |
Blue and White is the one to watch. Gantz spent months trying to merge. He talked to Yoaz Hendel, Ayelet Shaked, Dedi Simchi and Gilad Erdan, and none of it closed. Hendel's talks fell apart in early July over whether to include Haredi parties. Erdan and Edelstein's Unity party launched on 6 Aug and later did not appear among the lists. With Gadi Eisenkot gone to Yashar and Chili Tropper gone to Yashar too, Gantz is running on a brand, not a bench. If it misses 3.25%, those votes are lost. If a poll surprises, it could take seats from the center.
The Pirates have run since 2013 without a breakthrough. In 2026 they filed a 25-name list on 7 Sept with the behavioral economist Dan Ariely at number 3. He told Kipa he joined because "politics is fun." Their core ask is direct, tech-enabled democracy.
A word of caution. Other long-running fringe lists have appeared in past cycles, including a lone pro-pensioner list, a Christian-Arab list and a few single-issue lists. I have not verified which of them filed in 2026, so I have left them out.
The newcomers
Two kinds of new list ran this cycle. One is the serious break-away from a big party. The other is the personality list.
Serious but struggling
| List | Leader | Shtick | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel First | Sharren Haskel | The liberal right's "politically homeless." Equal service, free market, hard security line. | 0.6% to 1%. Profiled separately. |
| Reservists-Economic | Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha | Reservist identity plus anti-corruption economics. | 2.7 seats on average. Right on the edge. Profiled separately. |
| Amcha Yisrael (People of Israel) | Ofer Winter | A general's post-7 October right-wing list. Backs only Netanyahu. | 0 to 5 seats. Polls disagree wildly. Profiled separately. |
| Haredi Public Party | Motti Leitner | A Haredi challenger to the main Haredi parties, with the first woman on a Haredi list. | 0.4% to 1.1%. Profiled separately. |
| Zionist Home | Chili Tropper (originally with Hendel) | Born as a joint list with Hendel. The alliance split between 5 and 7 Sept after Tropper went to Yashar. | Not on the ballot. It merged into Yashar. |
| Unity | Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein | Launched 6 Aug as a "Third Bloc" right-wing party pushing universal conscription. | Not on the final list of 38. It dropped out. |
The personality lists
| List | Leader | Shtick |
|---|---|---|
| Sharshar, for Love and National Unity | Eitan Shvili, who goes by Sharshar | Showed up to file in a blue cape and crown. Asked for the ballot letters for "justice." Slate of 12, with a travel agent called "the queen" at number 2. |
| Garden of Eden | Yeshua Ben David | Candidate for prime minister and finance minister at once. Wore a High Priest-style breastplate. Platform includes partial religious law, broad debt forgiveness including mortgages and closing the Welfare Ministry. |
These are not going anywhere. They are included because voters will see their names on the ballot and wonder.
The rest of the field
The remaining lists on the ballot, in the order the committee registered them, are below. I could not verify what most of them stand for, so the table gives names only. Check the Central Elections Committee.
| HaKahal | Partnership for Everyone | Women's Voice |
| Together We Will Succeed | Just Law | Shema |
| New Order | You and Me, the Israeli People's Party | Eternal Covenant |
| Fixing the Electoral and Governing System | The Biblical Bloc | Social Security |
| Dawn's Light, a Party for Everyone | Personal Security | The Color Black, Guarding the World of Torah |
| Ahi Movement | House of Israel Junction | Redemption |
| ## What to watch |
- Last-minute drop-outs. Small lists can withdraw and endorse a bigger party. I could not confirm the deadline for pulling a list, so I am not predicting any.
- Blue and White. If Gantz crosses 3.25%, it is a major surprise. If he stays near 1.5%, his voters are lost.
- The Reservists-Economic slate. The most likely small list to gain or lose a seat on the day.
- The right-wing pile-up. Amcha Yisrael, Israel First, Noam and Religious Zionism all compete for the same voters. Several of them cannot make it.
- Ballots. The ballot will carry 38 names. Expect a long list and a lot of letters.
Caveats: Polling figures here are dated snapshots, some from August. Fringe-list details come from filing-day reporting and may be incomplete. The Times of Israel's long-shot guide I found was from an earlier cycle, so I did not use it for 2026 claims.
Sources: Israeled, 38 lists; Ynet, filing-day fringe parties; Jerusalem Post, Pirate Party; Jerusalem Post election explainer; Times of Israel, small parties jockeying; Wikipedia, 2026 election; Tyler Peller, Israel Votes 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many parties are running in the 2026 Israeli election?
Thirty-eight lists qualified for the 27 October ballot. Eleven or so have a real chance of winning seats. A list needs about 4 seats' worth of votes, 3.25%, to get in.
Why do small parties matter in Israeli elections?
Votes for lists that miss the threshold are thrown out of the seat count, which helps the big blocs. A few lists sit between 1% and 3%, such as Blue and White and the Reservists-Economic slate.
Which small parties are perennials?
The page lists Blue and White, the Pirate Party, Balad and Noam. The Pirate Party was founded in 2012 and first ran in 2013. It filed a 25-name list on 7 September with Dan Ariely at number 3.
Which newcomers are running?
Serious newcomers include Israel First, Reservists-Economic, Amcha Yisrael and the Haredi Public Party. Personality lists include Sharshar and Garden of Eden. Zionist Home and Unity are not on the ballot.
Cite this page: The Israel Gazette. “The Small Parties: Perennials and Newcomers.” Updated 9 October 2026. https://israelgazette.com/election/the-small-parties-perennials-and-newcomers/