Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday to accuse Israel of intentionally killing Americans during the attack on the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War.
The 1967 incident, in which 34 U.S. sailors were killed and another 171 wounded, is a focal point for anti-Israel conspiracy theorists, who reject the official explanations from the United States and Israel that the attack was the result of friendly fire by Israeli forces, who believed they were attacking an Egyptian ship.
Massie, who has blamed pro-Israel groups for his defeat in his primary election in May, indulged in those conspiracies to accuse the Jewish state of intentionally targetting the reconnaissance vessel.
“This was an effort to kill everybody on board,” Massie said on the House floor. “There was no intention of taking prisoners after the 25 grueling minutes of attack on this virtually unarmed ship.”
Israel took responsibility for mistakenly attacking the Liberty within hours of the incident on June 8, 1967, and has since apologized and paid millions of dollars in restitution to the families of victims and to wounded survivors.
Massie cited a list of former U.S. officials who have raised doubts about the conclusions of repeated American investigations of the attack, including former CIA director Richard Helms.
“None of these distinguished men think this was an accident,” Massie said. “They think it was intentional murder by the country of Israel, either as a false flag operation or because they simply didn’t want anybody observing what they were doing that day.”
Despite every U.S. and Israeli government investigation concluding that the attack was a case of mistaken identity, Massie called for another probe of the attack.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said that Massie’s decision to speak about the USS Liberty might signal his intent after leaving Congress to join the anti-Israel media ecosystem.
“Comments like this make me question his authenticity,” the former U.S. Navy SEAL wrote. “Perhaps we are simply witnessing another example of the irresistible incentive to jump on the bandwagon of grifters that guarantee you a specific kind of social media audience and attention that ultimately results in profits.”
Neo-Nazi figures and anti-Israel conspiracists welcomed Massie’s speech.
“Thomas Massie is doing the Lord’s work,” wrote Stew Peters, an alt-right podcaster who has called for a “final solution” to deport Jews from the United States.
