| Author | Message | | Jefferson Davis | | Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 am Post subject: Israeli-American conspiracy talk series wraps up |
| Everyone of these articles over this lecture series spent more time on defending Israel than they do about the actual story of the USS Liberty veterans which isn't surprising since they are Israeli Firster USS Liberty apologists.
Israeli-American conspiracy talk series wraps up
lohud.com
September 29, 2008
Barbara Livingston Nackman
The Journal News
WHITE PLAINS - Two U.S. Navy veterans finished their seven-stop road trip yesterday, talking about what they believe is a 41-year cover-up of an intentional Israeli strike on a U.S. spy ship during the Six-Day War.
American officials have agreed with Israel that the June 8, 1967, attack that killed 34 American sailors and injured others on the USS Liberty was a friendly fire accident.
These veteran sailors who survived the attack and their supporters said they doubt it.
The two veterans reached White Plains with their photographs and personal stories. Unlike an event in Suffern on Saturday where many attendees walked out, saying the men's views were anti-Semitic, the White Plains gathering at Memorial United Methodist Church drew 35 men and women who listened intently.
"Given today's revelations on Iraq," said Phyllis Schafer Rodriguez of White Plains, "they have presented a good case. The truth is what we should be after."
The Israelis say it was a case of mistaken identity of a U.S. ship, said Ernie Gallo of Palm Coast, Fla., a communications officer on the USS Liberty.
"Our country gave Israel a free pass for the 34 Americans killed with full premeditation and the attempted murder of 393 soldiers," he said.
Gallo was aided in his talk by Richard "Rocky" Sturman of the Astoria section of Queens, a veteran sailor and past editor of the USS Liberty Newsletter.
"The ship was in international waters, and the attack was a violation of international law," Sturman said.
Both said they sought to inform the public about a dark incident in American-Israel relations and they weren't against Jews or Israel.
At least one audience member wasn't so convinced.
"I think there is a lot of hostility toward Israel," said Allan Grafman of White Plains. "I am for the truth, I bless the veterans and those who perished. But things happen in conflict, and I didn't hear anything that compelling."
Alison Weir, executive director of If Americans Knew in Portland Ore., which helped present the forum, said the message was vital.
"This was a ruthless attack on a U.S. ship," Weir said. "Their story will allow peace and justice in the Middle East."
A frequent critic of the veterans' tale is Michael Oren, an Israel-based historian and professor at Georgetown University in Washington. He is in the Israeli military reserves and is the author of "Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East," published in 2002. Last year, Oren was a guest speaker at Congregation Sons of Israel in Briarcliff and focused on Israel and the Middle East.
"There are thousands of documents related to the USS Liberty incident, and with few exceptions they have been declassified," Oren said yesterday when contacted for a comment. "There is not a scintilla of evidence to indicate that Israel acted cold-bloodily or deliberately." The ship, he said, was in international waters, though close to the boundary, and as a former paratrooper himself he knows that during battle unfortunate incidents can happen.
Oren said that despite the release of clear information, the veterans, and those who support them, continue to promote their own one-sided presentation.
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