USS Liberty reallygraceful.jpg

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the attack on the virtually unarmed American naval vessel: the USS liberty.

Positioned 17-miles off the Gaza coast, the Liberty's mission was to intercept communications at the height of the Six-Day War. Well, until the ship was attacked by Israel, then the only thing they were intercepting was torpedoes, bombs, bullets, and napalm, despite the attack taking place in full daylight, with the American flag on display. And even though Israel basically shrugged and said, "whoopsie daisy," labeling the attack a case of "mistaken identity", perhaps the most shocking part of this attack is that it's missing from American history books.

Did you ever learn about the Liberty in school? I sure didn't.

One of the biggest untold stories in American history deserves some spotlight, right? To be fair, you could replace "Israel" with any ally attacking the United States in this tale, and the point still stands: with 34 American sailors killed and 172 injured that day, Israel committed acts of war that the United States has covered up for 50 years.

At the beginning of every school day, children across America pledge allegiance to the United States of America, not the United States of Israel, or the United States of Switzerland, or any other nation. Our tax dollars go towards the future generation's education: an education riddled with as many holes as a piece of Swiss cheese. How can we flourish in the land of opportunity, the land of the free, the home of the brave (and all of that jazz), when our government continues to operate in such a treasonous fashion, lining their pockets with endless cashflow from foreign lobbyists?

June 8, 1967

On June 8, 1967, a crew of 294 men were patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. At 1400 hours, or 2PM, the Liberty crew noted three surface radar contacts, followed up by a high speed aircraft passing over the ship. A few moments later, without any warning, an Israeli fighter aircraft launched a rocket attack at the American ship, trailed by cannon fire and napalm. Israeli forces jammed the Liberty's communications, targeting the ship's command bridges. As a result, the Liberty's crew had a rough time contacting United States Navy's Sixth Fleet. (

It's important to note that, prior to this attack, there was no fire directed from the Liberty to the aircraft.) The Israeli aircrafts attacked in a criss-cross fashion over the ship, striking at 45-second to 1-minute intervals. Even though the commanding officer of the Liberty was injured from shrapnel, he managed to grab a camera and photograph the aircraft.

And that was only the attack from the sky.

Screen Shot 2017-06-08 at 2.37.40 PM.png

Following the air attack, torpedo boats flying Israeli flags were noted, and the Liberty crew replaced their American flag with a larger American flag in an effort to signal that they were not the enemy, assuming the attack was done in error. The Israeli torpedo strikes rendered the Liberty dead in the water, with all power and steering control lost, and Liberty survivors reported that Israeli torpedo boat crews swept the decks with continuous machine gun fire, targeting communications equipment and any crew members above deck. When the captain gave the order to "prepare to abandon ship", the torpedo boat crews targeted inflated life boats with their machine gun fire. Two helicopters bearing the Star of David were reported passing over and around the ship but were not observed picking up persons, bodies, or debris.

Now let's dive into the murky waters of speculation:

Why would Israel attack the United States?
What would've been their motivation?
Their goal?
Was it really a case of mistaken identity?

The attack occurred in broad daylight, amid excellent weather conditions, with both the American flag and vessel number identifiable from the air.

An article released by the Chicago Tribune in 2007 revealed that transcripts from the Israeli Air Force pilots who flew over the Liberty saw a U.S. flag.

If the pilots spotted the flag, what was Israel's motive for attack an American ship?

The United States chose to stay out of the Six-Day War between Israel and Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, despite Israel’s requests for military support.
Did Israel feel betrayed?
Did they desire revenge?
A popular hypothesis is that Israel wanted to pull a false-flag to rope the United States into war with Egypt. Another hypothesis deals with intelligence, since the Liberty was reportedly collecting intel, and perhaps some of what they collected Israel did not want revealed, thus the attack.

ussliberty.org photo.jpg

While inquiring why Israel would attack an American ship is an important series of questioning, perhaps asking why the Sixth Fleet abandoned the Liberty is just as important. The Liberty's radio sent a brief distress message that was acknowledged by the Sixth Fleet who were nearby in the Mediterranean.

The director of the CIA during the 1967 attack, Richard Helms, elaborated on the final investigation of the Liberty:

"Israeli authorities subsequently apologized for the incident, but few in Washington could believe that the ship had not been >identified as an American naval vessel. Later, an interim intelligence memorandum concluded the attack was a mistake and not >made in malice against the U.S. . . .I have yet to understand why it was felt necessary to attack this ship or who ordered the >attack."

Congress never investigated the Liberty attack, making the Liberty "the only attack on a United States Navy ship, involving significant loss of life, that has not been so investigated". After the attack, nearly all the evidence pertaining to it remained highly classified. Why? Did the White House fear conflict with Israel? Did they fear conflict enough to sacrifice their own servicemen for the benefit of a foreign nation, a nation who committed war crimes against the United States?

Although the surviving crew members were awarded medals of honor for their plight, they've been vilified for claiming the attack was in any way deliberate on Israel's behalf. Terms like "neo-Nazis", "conspiracy theorists", and "anti-semites" have been used to describe the survivors of the attack in their efforts to pursue a transparent investigation.

Are these men neo-Nazis for telling the truth?
Are they conspiracy theorists for wanting an open and transparent investigation?
Are they anti-semites for having the audacity to survive?
Are the abbreviated lives of the sons, brothers, fathers and husbands not worth a mention in our history books because they fell at the hands of "God's chosen people"?
Were they not God's people, too?

Sources, further reading:

Chicago Tribune: Transcripts of IAF communications show pilots who attacked Liberty in Six-Day War saw a U.S. flag

[War Crimes Report] (http://www.usslibertyveterans.org/files/War%20Crimes%20Report.pdf)

"USS Liberty: Dead In The Water" (BBC Documentary 2002)