The party was formed prior to the 1977 elections by the merger of Meri, Moked, the Independent Socialist Faction and some members of the Black Panthers.
It won two seats in the elections, which were held on a rotation basis by five party members; Uri Avnery (previously an MK for Meri), Aryeh Eliav (an MK for the Independent Socialist Faction in the previous Knesset), Meir Pa'il (an ex-Moked MK), Saadia Marciano and Walid Haj Yahia.
Other prominent members of Sheli were the former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army Matti Peled and Ran Cohen, who later served as an MK for Ratz and Meretz and a government minister.
Sheli called for negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization based on mutual recognition and for the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state.
[1] On 11 November 1980, Marciano broke away from the party to form a single-member faction, later renamed Equality in Israel – Panthers.