The Liberty Incident - by A Jay Cristol (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

On June 8, 1967, at the height of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Israeli air and naval forces attacked the USS LIBERTY, an intelligence-collection ship in the service of Israel's closest ally, while that vessel steamed in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. The Israelis killed 34 Americans, wounded 171, and nearly sank the ship. Dozens of theories exist about what happened that day. Official inquiries conducted in both the United States and Israel attributed the event to faulty communications and tragic error, but survivors remain outspoken and not alone in their belief that the Israelis acted deliberately. Federal judge and former naval aviator A. Jay Cristol places the incident in its proper context. The Israeli strike, he argues, can only be understood in light of the Cold War, the outbreak of war in the Middle East, interservice rivalry within the Israeli Defense Forces, and the chaos of an operational environment. That both the United States and Israel kept much of the data concerning the incident classified for more than ten years served only to fuel the fires of intrigue and charges of conspiracy to cover up the truth, but since the incident significant portions of most of the official inquiries have now been declassified. Cristol draws on these, on documents recently obtained by him through the Freedom of Information Act, and on extensive oral history interviews to deliver the most comprehensive treatment of the episode that threatened to ruin Israel's relations with the United States and has served as a nagging source of suspicion for so many years.

Review Quotes

After years of research for this book, Judge A. Jay Cristol has reached a similar conclusion to one my father reached in his June 18, 1967, endorsement of the findings of the court of inquiry. I commend Judge Cristol for his thoroughness and fairness, and I commend this work. -"Sen. John McCain Only those with an ulterior motive can still cling to the conspiracy theories after Judge Jay Cristol's excellent coverage documents each detail that led to the tragic mistaken attack. -"Adm. Leon A. (Bud) Edney, USN (Ret.), former NATO supreme allied commander, Atlantic; and commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic command This is a story of mistakes in war as old as history and as current as today's head-lines. Jay Cristol is well qualified to write this exhaustive history after analyzing, collectiong, and cross-checking decades of interviews and reams of written material. -"Adm. David E. Jeremiah, USN (Ret.), former vice chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff A. Jay Cristol, with his background as a chief federal judge, lawyer, naval officer, and carrier pilot, has brought unprecedented credentials to his invstigation--"and account of--"the Liberty incident. -"Norman Polmar, naval analyst and author of THE NAVAL INSTITUTE GUIDE TO THE SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. FLEET Judge Jay Cristol has completed exhaustive research, an accurate reconstruction of events, and persuasively reasoned analysis of the tragic circumstances which led to the Israeli attack on the Liberty . . . A great book too, I couldn't put it down! -"Adm. Jerry Johnson, USN (Ret.), former vice chief of naval operations The name I want you to remember is Jay Cristol . . . . He knows more about the Liberty than anybody else in the world . . .. He's got the most balanced view of anybody I've ever known. -"Donald Engen, former director, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum This is the definitive book on the Israeli attack during the Six-Day War. . . . A superb account. -"Foreign Affairs The most thorough study to date. -"Middle East Journal [Cristol's] research is stunningly complete. -"Middle East Quarterly The Liberty Incident is an exhaustive analysis. . . . There is no doubt the author knows more about this subject than anyone else who has written on it. -"U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings A painstakingly detailed and footnoted account. -"The Miami Herald

About the Author

A. Jay Cristol, J.D., PH.D., is a federal judge serving the southern district of Florida. An aviation enthusiast, he spent eighteen years as a naval aviator and twenty in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps. He retired as a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve