The Likud party was based on the Irgun.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
The claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage (Lokud and Urgun are read as Likud and Irgun). Multiple sources, including a tier1 fact-checker and a tier2 1977 NYT piece, describe the Irgun as the origin of Herut, which later merged into Likud, so the party's lineage from the Irgun is well supported, though 'based on' simplifies a multi-party alliance.
What was said
… The IDF, you know what you're saying, and I know exactly what you're talking about and who these people are, but that's been the official IDF, the official Zionist point of view for decades. There's nothing new about that. The Lokud was based, uhm, on the Urgun. You know, one morphed into the other. Uh, that's, that's been their militant point of view for a, a very long time, and certainly their policies reflected. The use of the word terrorist, of course, is something that wasn't used nearly as much decades ago. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Full Fact states that Menachem Begin led Etzel (the Irgun) and then founded the Herut Party, which 'eventually merge[d] with other parties to form the Likud Party.'[1]
Supports. A 1977 New York Times article states that 'the dissolved Irgun became the foundation of Mr. Begin's political faction, the Herut,' which evolved into the Likud.[3]
Supports. Additional encyclopedic and historical sources describe Herut as growing out of the Irgun and as the direct predecessor of Likud, consistent with the claim.[4][5][6][7]
Context. Likud was formally founded in 1973 as an alliance of several right-wing parties, with Herut as its largest component, so 'based on the Irgun' describes its lineage rather than its entire membership.[2][4]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1This is a real photo of Margaret Thatcher and Menachem ...fullfact.org · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Live 2026 Israel election resultsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3But Israel's Direction Is Clearly to the Rightnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Likud - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5Irgun - AcademiaLabacademia-lab.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Letter from Israel | The New Yorkernewyorker.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7The dream of a Jewish state – Modern Timesen.nytid.no · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Irgun was a radical Zionist group that targeted civilians.True
- Yitzhak Shamir was a member of the Irgun.True
- The Irgun called themselves a terrorist organization in the mid-1940s.Can’t tell
- The Likud party currently holds 26 seats in the Knesset.True
- The Israeli state was founded in mass ethnic cleansing.Mixed