JerusalemU Lies About the USS Liberty [UPDATED]

JerusalemU Lies About the USS Liberty [UPDATED]

Two years ago, I contacted the founder of the JerusalemU website about the claims made in his video mentioning the June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.

He told me, “We will look into your website and your claims more in depth.”

He has not.

UPDATE

I had a recent email exchange with Rabbi Raphel Shore of JerusalemU.  While he did not distance himself or his organization from the lies about the USS Liberty attack in his video or tell us the lies will be corrected, Rabbi Shore wrote: “While the video you are referring to of ours mentions the USS LIberty, it’s not really about it. We are however, considering a video that does unpack the USS LIberty story, and show the different sides.”

He then asked if I would consider being interviewed for the planned video.

My response:

Thank you for your kindness in responding to my email.

I applaud your effort to create a more inclusive video about the attack on our ship.

While I feel it would be inappropriate for me to direct you in a way that will result in a video that has a pre-determined conclusion, I hope you don’t mind my making a few suggestions of what you should consider for including in your video.  I will be the first to admit that any of these suggestions will go a long way in achieving our goal of ensuring the attack is documented as completely as possible.

First on my list would be interviews with Israelis involved in the attack.  I was briefly in touch with a retired Israeli Admiral who was the head of an organization of former IDF Navy personnel.  He told me he counted in the membership of his group a number of attack participants.  I have been looking for his contact information but cannot find it.  I’m sure your associates in Israel will be able to obtain that information from the IDF.

You may also find Gen. Yiftah Spector who lead the air attack amenable to being interviewed.

My second suggestion is to have your Congressional Delegation contact the Congressional Research Service and ask the question, “Has the US government conducted an investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty?”

To your offer to my being interviewed for the video, there was a time when I would gladly accept the invitation.  A time when I could speak about the attack as if it had happened to someone else.  Unfortunately, that time is long past.  One can only speak about our being ordered abandoned by the Sixth Fleet while we were still under attack and calling for help for so long before the wall I created between me and the attack comes crashing down.  And the knowledge that no Member of Congress has ever accepted our invitation to attend our annual memorial service in DC is just one of the things I have a hard time dealing with. 

I’m afraid the mental preparation needed to participate in such an interview has gotten to be too much for me to handle.  I hope you can use the videos on our YouTube channel in lieu of a new interview.

Thank you again for your kindness and your interest in the attack on our ship.

According to his Wikipedia reference, Rabbi Shore is a Canadian-Israeli Rabbi who founded JerusalemU and the Clarion Project.  In his email to me he showed no concern for the effect the lies in his video about the USS Liberty has on the American survivors of the attack and on our families.

One can only hope that his anticipated video about the attack on our ship will not include comments by parties not involved in the attack itself (e.g. Jay Cristol who did not interview a single USS Liberty survivor for his dissertation about the attack) but will include comments, evidence and testimony made available by those actually involved in the attack.


By Joe Meadors

In a previous version of the JerusalemU website we learned that the organization was “founded by Rabbi Raphael Shore in 2009 to address the prevalent and growing need to educate and inspire the new generation about Judaism and Israel so that they gain a stronger Jewish identity and an appreciation of their heritage.”

Jerusalem U is committed to strengthening the emotional and intellectual connection of young Jews to Judaism and Israel breaking old molds, forging new approaches to Jewish and Israel education through the creative use of film and technology all distributed via the Internet, social media, television, grassroots campaigns and partnerships with mainstream pro-Israel and Jewish organizations.

Apparently, that approach involves lying about the attack on the USS Liberty.

In their video about day six of the Six Day War they repeat the claim that the attack consisted solely of an air attack followed by a recognition of the true identity of the ship and termination of the attack.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56_K78fRdvM]

They omit the apparently mundane facts that are routinely overlooked by those more intent on ensuring their visitors are told a fictionalized account of the attack instead of one supported by evidence and testimony of all persons involved. 

Do they think their visitors can’t handle the truth?

If they don’t, why omit the facts that they used unmarked aircraft, jammed our radios on both US Navy tactical and international maritime distress frequencies, deliberately machine-gunned serviceable life rafts we had dropped over the side in anticipation of abandoning ship, fired upon USS Liberty crewmen who attempted to help our wounded shipmates who were trapped topside during the attack, and departed the scene for over an hour instead of offering aid immediately upon cessation of hostilities as is their obligation under international law?

Two years ago, I contacted Rabbi Shore and asked that he consider information we have accumulated over the past 5 decades and include that information in their reference to the USS Liberty.

He promised that he would.

He has not.

Perhaps it is time for me to remind him of his promise.

Selected USS Liberty Documents

Selected Information About the June 8, 1967 Attack on the USS Liberty

Last Updated June 22, 2019

USS Liberty Veterans Association Official Website http://bit.ly/15YkDl6

Email your Congressional Delegation and have them request the Congressional Research Service send you a copy of the US government investigation of the June 8, 1967, Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty.

Email your Congressional Delegation and have them send you a copy of the Congressional investigation of the June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.

Email the Historians of both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate and ask them to send you a copy of the Congressional investigation of the June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.

Donate to the USS Liberty Veterans Association http://bit.ly/2KIt4gi

USS Liberty Document Center http://bit.ly/1TQDxk1

Al Jazeera Documentary “The Day Israel Attacked America” http://bit.ly/1E57ySG

Capt. William McGonagle (Commanding Officer of USS Liberty) [attack was] “not a case of mistaken identity” http://bit.ly/1GFTMYd

Oral History of USS Liberty Survivor Dale Larkins http://bit.ly/1K0rMRY (Dale manned Mount 51 and brought the torpedo boats under fire, fired a single shot at the torpedo boats when the gun jammed)

US Navy Court of Inquiry Report http://bit.ly/1I6dEJP

ADM John McCain Limited Endorsement of US Navy COI Report http://bit.ly/2kxgvIi

July 27, 2005 Letter of RADM Merlin Staring to the Secretary of the Navy excoriating the US Navy Court of Inquiry Report. Staring was the Legal Advisor to CINCUSNAVEUR ADM John McCain who was the Convening Authority for the US Navy Court of Inquiry into the attack on the USS Liberty http://bit.ly/2WWihzJ

USS Liberty Veterans War Crimes Report http://bit.ly/7Rvr4

Exhibits to the War Crimes Report http://bit.ly/L3n9L

Declaration of Capt. Ward Boston – Court of Inquiry Legal Advisor http://bit.ly/RLZM8

Account of Capt. Joe Tully (CO of USS Saratoga) http://bit.ly/13usYrL

Memoranda from RADM Merlin Staring (CINCUSNAVEUR Legal Advisor) http://bit.ly/12N4ICV

Department of Defense Law of War Program http://bit.ly/1QawErT

Affidavit of Lloyd Painter http://bit.ly/13unpcQ

Affidavit of Dave Lewis http://bit.ly/13uhW5N

Statement of Glenn Oliphant http://bit.ly/13ulxRn

Army War College Report http://bit.ly/1Qaxbdg

Declaration of Steve Forslund http://bit.ly/13uDVcB

Declaration of Ron Gotcher http://bit.ly/13uE5Rw

VFW Resolution 431 http://bit.ly/1DLcI5W

JAG Manual http://bit.ly/1GPNE2b

Faked Gun site Photo Included in Jay Cristol Dissertation http://bit.ly/13ujcG3

IDF Statement on Photos Provided to Jay Cristol http://bit.ly/1PeOojw

JAGC Statement on Handling of War Crimes Report http://bit.ly/1zEguDb

David Walsh Article in Proceedings, June 2003 http://bit.ly/1zEgCTh

13 Investigation Myth http://bit.ly/13usC4b

Walter Jacobsen Article in Winter, 1986 issue of Naval Law Review http://bit.ly/jdjgSD

Draft State Resolution http://bit.ly/1GQXmnI

Draft Congressional Statement for June 8 Memorial Service http://bit.ly/1GPOFHJ

Uniform Code of Military Justice http://bit.ly/2F6FKrQ

Naming of LCS-2 (USS Liberty Name Considered) http://bit.ly/17zkJB7

Review of “The Liberty Incident Revealed” by A. Jay Cristol http://bit.ly/1dGtZIA

New revelations in attack on American Spy Ship by John Crewdson-Chicago Tribune Article October 2, 2007 http://bit.ly/1cifslS

‘But Sir, It’s an American Ship.’ ‘Never Mind, Hit Her!’ When Israel Attacked USS Liberty – Ha’aretz July 11, 2017 http://bit.ly/2Mnj3V5

“Attack on a Sigint Collector – USS Liberty http://bit.ly/2Xpsshi

US State Department Legal Advisor Carl F. Salans September 21, 1967 Memo Refuting the Israeli Claim That They Mistook Us for the Egyptian Tramp Steamer “el Quseirhttp://bit.ly/2XhhPQY

US State Department Legal Advisor Carl F. Salans September 21, 1967 Memo Retyped for Clarity http://bit.ly/2XhR8vm

USS Liberty: Why Investigate the Attack on a US Navy Ship?

USS Liberty: Why Investigate the Attack on a US Navy Ship?

Congressional investigations of the attacks on the USS Pueblo, USS Stark and USS Cole as well as the 1982 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut were initiated almost immediately following each of those attacks.

The Israeli’s attacked the USS Liberty over 19,100 days ago with no Congressional investigation in sight.

What effect has Congress’ refusal to investigate the attack on the USS Liberty had on the survivors of the attack, our families and the families of our 34 fallen shipmates?

Do Members of Congress even care?  Hint: No!

by Joe Meadors

We’ve been approached by a staff member of a Member of Congress who solicited my input to be presented to his boss regarding the attack on the USS Liberty and the possibility of a Congressional investigation of the attack.

In my email response to him I addressed the questions he posed as well as a question posed in an attachment he included.  To paraphrase his main question, “The attack happened over 52 years ago, why investigate the attack in the first place and why investigate now?”

My response follows:


Thank you for reaching out to me.

To get directly to the questions you asked.

No Member of Congress (now or previous) has ever indicated an interest in a Congressional investigation of the attack on our ship.  In fact, they are so averse to anything USS Liberty that no Member of Congress has ever attended the annual memorial service we hold in Washington, DC.  Proof that Members of Congress perform a litmus test to determine whether or not the sacrifice of American KIA’s are worth publicly honoring.

I know of nothing in the Constitution or statutes that requires Congress to conduct an investigation of the attack.

That said, historically Congress has investigated all attacks on a US Navy ship since the end of World War II.  The attacks on the USS Pueblo, USS Stark and USS Cole have all been the subject of a Congressional investigation.  As have been the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut and the attack on the SS Mayaguez.

The attack on the USS Liberty is the only attack on a US Navy ship not to be the subject of a Congressional investigation since the end of WWII.

This despite the facts that the attack included:

  • Unmarked aircraft;
  • Jamming of our radios on both US Navy tactical and international maritime distress frequencies;
  • Deliberate machine gunning of serviceable life rafts we had dropped over the side in anticipation of abandoning ship;
  • Slow circling of our torpedoed and burning ship by attacking torpedo boats as they fired from very close range at USS Liberty crewmen who ventured out to help our wounded shipmates trapped topside; and,
  • The decision of the attacking torpedo boats to depart the scene immediately after they ceased hostilities only to return some 90 minutes later in an obvious attempt to be able to claim they were coming to our assistance to drive off the aggressors.  International law obligates the aggressor to offer aid immediately after they cease hostilities, not 90 minutes later.

The Department of Defense, on the other hand, IS under an obligation to conduct an investigation.  Under the DoD’s Law of War Program (see link at http://bit.ly/2Natc7t) the Department of Defense is obligated “to investigate all allegations of war crimes whether committed by or against the United States.”  This is not a suggestion or recommendation.  It is an obligation.

On June 8, 2005 we submitted “A Report: War Crimes Committed Against U.S. Military Personnel, June 8, 1967” to the Department of Defense. (see link at http://bit.ly/2Natc7t).

The Department of Defense responded by claiming that the Court of Inquiry that they conducted shortly after the attack satisfied their obligation under their Law of War Program.

Unfortunately, the independent Congressional Research Service disagrees with the DoD’s position.

Some 25 years ago I had the opportunity, with the help of a mutual friend, to sit down with Mr. Clyde Mark, a Researcher with the Congressional Research Service.

Mr. Mark was in the CRS when the ship was attacked and was the researcher to whom USS Liberty-related questions would be submitted to for response.

I asked Clyde the direct question, “Has the US government conducted an investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty?”

His response was immediate and emphatic.  “No.”

In order for his response to be officially from the CRS, the question must be posed by a Member of Congress.  No Member of Congress will ask.  I know they won’t because I have asked them to – repeatedly – and they have refused.

Members of Congress insist there has been an investigation of the attack on our ship.

The Department of Defense insists there has been an investigation of the attack on our ship.

The Congressional Research Service insists there has been NO investigation of the attack on our ship.

Will you ask the CRS the question?

Will I participate in a conference call with the Congressman?

That depends.  And it should be noted that it comes at a personal price.

I have been invested in the effort to persuade Congress and the DoD that an attack on a US Navy ship warrants a complete and comprehensive public US government simply because it happened since before the USS Liberty Veterans Association was created in June, 1982.

There was a time when I could pursue that goal dispassionately.  Almost like the attack happened to someone else.

That wall was destroyed years ago.

Now I protect myself by confining my actions to the protection of a computer and word processor.  Unlike the Congressmen and their staffers I have interfaced with over the past decades, my computer doesn’t tell me anything I want to hear or make promises it doesn’t have any intention of honoring just to get me out of the office.

To anticipate a question routinely asked during meetings with Congressmen:  Why after over 52 years should we now conduct an investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty?

The answer is complicated and simple at the same time:

  • It happened.  That alone should suffice.  It worked for the attacks on the USS Pueblo, USS Stark and USS Cole as well as the 1982 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut.  Not so for the attack on the USS Liberty;
  • War Crimes were committed by and against the United States during the attack;
  • While we were still under attack and calling for help, LBJ personally ordered the recall of two flights of rescue aircraft that had been launched to come to our aid and would have arrived in time to drive off the torpedo boats, saving the lives of 25 of our shipmates;
  • The US government, by its refusal to conduct an investigation of the attack, has allowed War Crimes to be committed against the United States with impunity;
  • The investigation should be expanded far beyond the attack to include a review of the reason why the US government has not conducted an investigation of the attack despite the pleadings of USS Liberty survivors who relate the account that includes violations of the Geneva Convention, the Laws of War, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice; and,
  • The families of our fallen shipmates have lived since June 8, 1967, with the knowledge that the US government thinks so little of the sacrifice of their sons or fathers that it won’t bother to determine the facts of the attack nor will they attend a memorial service honoring the sacrifice of their loved ones even when that memorial service is held literally in their back yard.

In the attachment you included with your email the question is asked, “Why did the government of Israel knowingly attack the crew and ship of the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967?”

The question is one that should be addressed during the US government investigation we have been advocating for for decades.  The US Navy Court of Inquiry was directed NOT to pursue that question even though it was clearly within the scope as described by ADM John S. McCain, Jr. the Convening Authority.

The NSA has acknowledged the existence of voice tapes that may address that question although they refuse to release the tapes referenced in their message.  The referenced message is at https://usslibertyveterans.org/files/station_has_voice_tapes.pdf.  Please help us by asking the NSA to release of the voice tapes referenced in the NSA message.

My response to your email has been far longer than I anticipated when I began and has covered far more material than anyone can include in a brief, 5-minute conference call with a Member of Congress.

If it’s all the same to you, my preference would be to allow these comments to be submitted for consideration in lieu of the phone call.

I would also appreciate the courtesy of a written response from the Congressman.

If you have any other questions or want any further information, please don’t hesitate to get back in touch with us.

Warmest regards,

Joe Meadors, USS Liberty Survivor
Director of Operations
USS Liberty Veterans Association
Email: [email protected]
https://usslibertyveterans.org
https://www.usslibertyveterans.blog
https://usslibertydocuments.info NEW! Library of All USS Liberty-Related Information (Under Construction)