Refuting the Unofficial Israeli Arguments

Anyone who doesn't accept the Israeli explanation is an anti-Semite and a conspiracy theorist.

The Israelis who support their governmen's 1967 attack on USS Liberty, together with their American surrogates, uniformly insist that the only possible reason anyone could have for doubting the Israeli explanation is anti-Semitism. Nothing else, just anti-Semitism. It isn't possible to have any doubts unless you are an anti-Semite. Further, the "fact" that everyone who has ever expressed doubts about the Israeli explanation is an anti-Semite is sufficient reason to forgo all further inquiries. The case is closed because the Israelis have explained it and if you can't accept that, you are an anti-Semite. If one does question their explanation, then those who do are both "anti-Semites" and "conspiracy theorists."

Of course, none of this goes to the issue of the merits of the Israeli claims, but (again) to question them is to be labeled as an anti-Semite and a conspiracy theorist. Nothing more need be said by Israel's defenders: Just label anyone who doubt's Israel 's story an anti-Semite and that excuses them from having to deal with the facts.

Consider the comments of Yiftah Spector, the first pilot to attack USS Liberty. Recall that he admits that he knew that the ship was in international waters and that he did not know the nationality of the ship he was attacking. With this in mind, Spector recently said in an interview:

"I'm sorry for the mistake. In war mistakes happen," Spector said. "But it wasn't my mistake."

He added he remained baffled that the conspiracy theories live on that Israel deliberately attacked the US intelligence ship. He suggested it might be due to anti-Semitism, or anti-Israeli sentiments. He has never in the past 37 years ever met with any of the Liberty survivors, but had no qualms about doing so now.

"These people never, ever spoke to me. Perhaps they are anti-Semites? Or these guys feel hurt and are looking for guilty parties, maybe to get compensation, or money? I am not afraid to meet them. Anyone who wants to meet with me is welcome. I don't have any claims against them. I don't want any compensation from them or anything. If they want they can look me up. And they best not deal with lies and deception since it won't help. It's best they tell the truth."

"They must understand that a mistake was made here," Spector said. "The fool is one who wanders about in the dark in dangerous places, so they should not come with any complaints."

What a kind soul! He doesn't want any compensation from the men he tried to kill while conducting an illegal attack on their ship. Such generosity! This is the view of a man who freely admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a war crime.

The Anti-Defamation League takes a similar position:

Despite the abundance of evidence that the bombing was a tragic mistake, conspiracy theories alleging that Israel intentionally attacked the Liberty have been a hallmark of conspiratorial anti-Israel propaganda since 1967. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of Liberty crewmen believe the attack was intentional.)

Michael Oren, who has published a book on the Six-Day War and includes some pages on USS Liberty, was interviewed in the Jerusalem Post with Spector:

But for some in the world it was inconceivable that the Israeli intelligence which orchestrated the enormous victory of the Six Days' War could have made such a gross mistake. There must be another explanation.

"There isn't," says Michael Oren, author of the acclaimed Six Days of War and senior fellow at The Shalem Center in Jerusalem. "Conspiracy theories in general live, and regarding Jews and Israel they are immortal."

"They don't die because they tap into the notion or belief of an international Jewish cabal, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion thing," he says. "The USS Liberty conspiracists all claim that Israel uses its lobbies and threaten to withhold support to anyone critical of the country. It is nefarious and sinister. It is anti-Semitism."

And, Oren in the Jewish Virtual Library:

The claim that Israel's attack on the Liberty was premeditated has also appeared persistently in the press. In 1992, nationally syndicated columnists Roland Evans and Robert Novak dedicated a column, "Twenty-Five Years of Cover-Up," to this charge. Similar accusations have been aired on television programs such as ABC's 20/20 and Geraldo Rivera's Now It Can Be Told. The claim is particularly widespread on the Internet, where a search for the "USS Liberty" yields dozens of sites, from those of Arab propagandists (Birzeit.edu, Salam.org, Palestine Forever) and anti-Semitic hate mongers (The Tangled Web, Jew Watch) to the award-winning USS Liberty Homepage, posted by Ennes and other veterans. But while the tenor of these pages may differ - the veterans abjure any anti-Semitism, stressing that several of their crewmates were Jewish - their conclusions are indistinguishable: Israel wantonly attacked the Liberty with the intention of killing every man on board, and then thwarted attempts to investigate the crime.

The chief defender in the United States of the Israeli position is Ahron Jay Cristol. Mr. Cristol has been quoted as follows:

Israel News Agency: Why has this matter remained alive for 36 years?

AJC: The victims of the tragedy are typical of victims of friendly fire. They find it difficult to believe that they were wounded or their buddies were killed by mistake. In this case the victims have been imposed upon, used and abused by groups with their own agendas. First, are those who are on the Arab side of the Arab/Israeli conflict and who try to use the tragedy to drive a wedge into the otherwise excellent relationship between the United States and Israel. Next are those persons who are anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. And finally there are the conspiracy buffs. For the reasons indicated these three groups have continued to probe the wounds of the victims for their own purposes and are not concerned with healing or closure.

And:

The victims have been imposed upon and used and abused by people with their own agendas . . . whether they are pro-Arab, anti-Israel or anti-Semitic . . . to drive a wedge into the otherwise excellent relationship between the US and Israel.

Cristol sees no other possible explanation beyond those he has articulated.

In an article based on an interview with Cristol, another author writes:

During the past 36 years, the attack on the Liberty has been the subject of much controversy. Liberty survivors - 34 were killed and 171 were injured - and people with strong anti-Israel views maintain that Israel purposely targeted the Liberty. Many others maintain that the Liberty was attacked by accident or, more accurately, as the result of a series of mistakes.

Bamford's charge of an Israeli war crime has also never been confirmed. For example, Judge Cristol told me that no mass grave from the purported massacre has been found in the Sinai.

I found an essay online by Bamford defending a critique of his book. Much of the essay is not devoted to supporting his thesis but to denouncing his critic as an agent of the Israeli government. (Indeed, a major problem with Bamford's allegations is that his feelings about Israel are uniformly negative.) Bamford claims that the Liberty incident has never been investigated because Congress is in the thrall of campaign money coming from pro-Israel forces. This hysterical charge echoes that of antisemites who say that Congress is "Zionist occupied territory." Bamford is also wrong, as Judge Cristol noted to me in conversation, in his claim that there have been no investigations, rather than saying that there have been no proper investigations. In fact, the American government has investigated the incident 10 times and the Israeli government has investigated it four times.

Judge Cristol notes in his book that the people who claim that Israel deliberately attacked the Liberty are usually anti-Israel. His book effectively fights these charges by laying out the facts in a complete and engaging fashion. The truth isn't pretty, and it puts a major part of the blame on Israel. Still, even today, in a time of "smart weapons," incidents of "friendly fire" unfortunately occur. In war - especially in war - accidents are bound to happen and people will be killed as a result. That is what happened to the USS Liberty. Judge Cristol deserves a lot of credit for making the case in such an accessible fashion.

Apparently, this author relies way too much on Cristol's word. In 1995, CNN reported on the existence of the mass graves. There has never been a Congressional investigation. And, certainly not everyone who believes that the attack was deliberate is an anti-Semite.

This attitude is not the exclusive province of Jews in general or Israelis in particular. A very large number of non-Jewish Americans (mostly evangelical Christian Zionists) hold identical views. At the same time, it is highly doubtful that even a significant number of Israelis or American Jews accept the notion that to disagree with Israeli politicians about anything automatically makes one an anti-Semite. Recent articles by Prof. Bruce Jackson and a religious Jew with rabbinical ordination Yomin Postelnik are excellent examples of the contrary position, a position that likely represents the position of the majority.

At the same time, it is undeniably true that non-Jewish, bigoted hatemongers use the attack on USS Liberty as another means of condemning Israel. Just because extremists use this argument does not validate dismissing it out of hand. It is possible to find hate groups taking a position on almost any cause or controversy in the world.

Arguments must be evaluated on the basis of facts, not prejudices. Those who reflexively scream "anti-Semitism" when faced with facts they cannot dispute do their side no justice, they only illustrate the weakness of their position.