\u201cNone of these distinguished men think this was an accident,\u201d Massie continued. \u201cThey think it was intentional murder by the country of Israel, either as a false flag operation or because they simply didn\u2019t want anybody observing what they were doing that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t Massie, who will be departing Congress next year after losing his primary in Kentucky, used the anniversary of the incident to call for Congress to pass a resolution honoring the victims of the attack and for a new investigation into the circumstances surrounding it.<\/p>\n The USS Liberty Veterans Association praised Massie\u2019s remarks in a post on X, writing that it was a story that \u201cNO other member of Congress will even listen to.\u201d<\/p>\n Massie is far from the only critic of Israel to use the attack as broader evidence of Israeli misconduct.<\/p>\n Last year, the far-right influencer Candace Owens interviewed a survivor of the attack and tweeted that there was \u201cperhaps no story that can more enlighten you to the deceitful and despicable nature of the modern state of Israel \u2014 and its stranglehold on the American government.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback has called for the attack to be taught in schools, and the antisemitic streamer Nick Fuentes has claimed that Israel initiated the attack to \u201cconceal their troop movements.\u201d<\/p>\n During his speech at Amfest in December, conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who devoted part of his podcast last year to elevating the conspiracy theory that the attack was a false flag operation on the part of Israel, told attendees that asking \u201cwhy a foreign government tried to sink one of our ships in 1967\u201d does not \u201cmake you an antisemite.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Oren Segal, the ADL\u2019s vice president of counterextremism and intelligence, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that his organization had been concerned about the \u201cnormalization\u201d of Carlson\u2019s views, including his rhetoric on the USS Liberty attack.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one\u2019s been a bigger boon to the USS Liberty conspiracy of late than Tucker Carlson,\u201d Segal said.<\/p>\n Following Carlson\u2019s remarks at Amfest, the annual conference of the right-wing group Turning Point USA\u2019s, the ADL denounced conspiracy theories about the attack that it said had swirled for decades.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite official findings that the attack was a tragic case of mistaken identity, these narratives continue to be amplified by actors seeking to inflame distrust and undermine US-Israel relations,\u201d the ADL said in a post on X.<\/p>\n At the conference, the Jewish pundit Ben Shapiro was also asked about the attack by an audience member, and responded that \u201cthe vast majority of people who bring this up are doing so to suggest that Israel deliberately attacked an American ship because Israel deliberately wants to harm America.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of Massie\u2019s fellow critics of Israel praised him for bringing up the incident on the floor of Congress on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you Thomas Massie for recognizing the heroic members of the USS Liberty, which was attacked by Israel, where 34 crew members were killed and 174 were wounded,\u201d tweeted Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former member of Congress. \u201cWhy did our \u2018greatest ally\u2019 attack us??\u201d<\/p>\n \t Other right-wing figures, including at least one member of Congress, criticized Massie\u2019s gambit.<\/p>\n Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas tweeted that he had previously believed that Massie was \u201cstanding on heartfelt principles and had intellectual backing\u201d even as they did not always agree.<\/p>\n \u201cBut comments like this make me question his authenticity,\u201d Crenshaw wrote. \u201cThe USS Liberty incident is a tragic one, but it\u2019s an incident with a clear conclusion if one uses any objective analysis of the facts. \u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam Mossoff, a former legal fellow of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, took aim at Massie\u2019s address in a post on X, writing that the Kentucky Republican had \u201cfully gone down the rabbit hole of antisemitism and Jewish conspiracy theories \u2014 via the modern American antisemite\u2019s favorite boogeyman, Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor the American woke left and woke right, the USS Liberty is the equivalent of the Dreyfuss Affair in France,\u201d Mossoff wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s the cause celebres of nationalism and bigotry in which history\u2019s greatest villains \u2014 the Jews \u2014 can be smeared again with nefarious and evil motives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26140158618960-e1779388995749-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tUS Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, speaks after losing the Republican party\u2019s nomination during an election night watch party at the Marriott Cincinnati Airport, May 19, 2026, in Hebron, Kentucky. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP19268540831272-e1581499577226-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tOren Segal of the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s Center on Extremism speaks during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, in Washington, February 18, 2015. (Carolyn Kaster\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26058492491325-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tRep. Dan Crenshaw, Republican-Texas, attends a news conference with Republicans, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 4, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin\/AP)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/334x334-200x200.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n