The party was established on 27 January 1976, during the
eighth Knesset, as the
Social-Democratic Faction, when
Aryeh Eliav and
Marcia Freedman left
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement. Prior to its creation,
Aryeh Eliav had broken away from the
Alignment and merged with
Ratz to form Ya'ad. On 3 February the new faction was renamed the Independent Socialist Faction. Prior to the
1977 elections, the party merged with several other small
left-wing parties, including
Meri,
Moked, and some members of the
Black Panthers to form the
Left Camp of Israel, whilst Freedman created the
Women's Party. The Left Camp of Israel won only two seats, which were held in rotation by five party members including Eliav, whilst the Women's Party failed to cross the
electoral threshold and subsequently disappeared. ==External links==