Why did Israel try to sink a US naval vessel in 1967?

Question

In the summer of 1967, the USS Liberty was patrolling in international waters off Egypt and Israel during the 1967 Israeli War against Egypt. Israeli warplanes attacked the ship and attempted to sink it, killing over 50 US sailors, even tho the ship flew a large American flag and the pilots waved to men aboard the ship before the attack.

Later, when it was evident that the ship would not sink, an Israeli boat approached with an offer to help. The American captain told him to go f&&k off.

The captain of the Liberty was later awarded the Medal of Honor but was the only recipient NOT TO BE AWARDED by the president. The ceremony was held in a warehouse at a naval base.

Answer 1

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a U.S. Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, in international waters north of the northern Sinai Peninsula coast, about 25.5 nautical miles northwest of the minaret at El Arish[1](p.26), by Israeli jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 and wounded more than 170 crew members, and damaged the ship severely.

Shortly after the attack ended, Israel informed the U.S. that its forces had attacked the Liberty in error. An Israeli Inquiry Commission composed of one person, Colonel Ram Ron, concluded that the attack was caused by a chain of mistakes by Israel Defense Force (IDF) personnel.[2](p.9) The IDF, in its History Report about the attack, says it asked the United States to inform them of any U.S. ships in the area but was not told of the Liberty's presence.[3](p.22) The IDF air and naval forces, respectively, misidentified the Liberty as an unknown destroyer and the Egyptian cargo ship El Quseir.[3](p.15) Supporters of Israel's explanation say that no credible motive existed for Israel to initiate a surprise attack against an important ally and the possibility of such mistakes were inherent in the tense atmosphere of the Six-Day War. The United States government was concerned about such dangers and ordered the Liberty further away from shore but the order was not received in time due to a series of communication failures.[1](p.21ff) In the IDF's History Report about the attack, it points out that that "though the attack on the armed forces of a friendly nation is a most regrettable and painful occurrence, incidents of this kind do occur in war-time."[3](p.38). See friendly fire incident.

Others claim that the attack was premeditated. They note that Liberty was about twice as large as El Quseir, designated with Latin rather than Arabic letters, displaying the American flag, and differently configured. Proponents include the surviving Liberty crewmen, [4] and some former U.S. government officials, including then-CIA director Richard Helms and then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk as well as Admiral Thomas Hinman Moorer, former Chief of Naval Operations and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Both the Israeli and American governments conducted inquiries into the incident, and issued reports concluding that the attack was a tragic mistake, caused by confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty. On December 17, 1987, the issue was officially closed by the two governments through an exchange of diplomatic notes. Israel eventually paid nearly US$13 million in humanitarian reparations to the United States and in compensation to the families of the victims.[5] The conclusions reached in the inquiry reports remain controversial, and some veterans and intelligence officials who were involved in the incident continue to dispute the official story

Answer 2

The attack on 'Liberty' was fading into obscurity until last week, when intelligence expert James Bamford came out with Body of Secrets, his latest book about the National Security Agency. In a stunning revelation, Bamford writes that unknown to Israel, a US Navy EC-121 intelligence aircraft was flying high overhead the 'Liberty,' electronically recorded the attack. The US aircraft crew provides evidence that the Israeli pilots knew full well that they were attacking a US Navy ship flying the American flag.

Why did Israel try to sink a naval vessel of its benefactor and ally? Most likely because 'Liberty's' intercepts flatly contradicted Israel's claim, made at the war's beginning on 5 June, that Egypt had attacked Israel, and that Israel's massive air assault on three Arab nations was in retaliation. In fact, Israel began the war by a devastating, Pearl-Harbor style surprise attack that caught the Arabs in bed and destroyed their entire air forces.

Israel was also preparing to attack Syria to seize its strategic Golan Heights. Washington warned Israel not to invade Syria, which had remained inactive while Israel fought Egypt. Bamford says Israel's offensive against Syria was abruptly postponed when 'Liberty' appeared off Sinai, then launched once it was knocked out of action. Israel's claim that Syria had attacked it could have been disproved by 'Liberty.'

Most significant, 'Liberty's' intercepts may have shown that Israel seized upon sharply rising Arab-Israeli tensions in May-June 1967 to launch a long-planned war to invade and annex the West Bank, Jerusalem, Golan and Sinai.

Answer 3

the hearing was bogus. during the 1967 war, the liberty, a spy ship, which got a bit to close to the actual war for israel, so the ship was attacked. in every version of the attack i've seen, the liberty was clearly displaying the u.s. flag. if we were an ally,  why was the liberty attacked? i seem to remember reading, members of the ship's crew trying to make radio contact with the jets but to no avail. finally, the c.o. of the liberty, requested air support from a nearby carrier. jets were launched and en route to the liberty, when they recalled to the carrier. the order to recall the aircraft (all f-4s) came from the secretary of state.

after the attack, the Israeli's, couldn't have been more apologetic to both the u.s. and members of the liberty. it makes you wonder why they were so apologetic, after the incident? who knows? it's been buried for ages. only to be mentioned in forums like this.

additional detail(s):

as i said, the liberty was a spy ship, and i seem to remember, that it was equipped with the most modern electronic surveillance systems.