The Cabinet will decide shortly how much to pay in compensation to wounded crewmen of the American electronic intelligence ship Liberty which Israeli jets attacked in error and severely damaged off the Sinai coast at the height of the June, 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The U.S. Navy has reportedly asked $3.5 million on behalf of the 166 wounded men. Last year Israel paid $3.3 million in compensation to the families of the 34 American sailors who died.
The U.S. Government has also submitted a claim for the Liberty itself but the amount has not been disclosed. The vessel, built as a Victory-type freighter during World War II, returned home under its own power and has been laid up ever since. Its fatal mission off Sinai during the Six-Day War has been likened to that of the Navy intelligence ship Pueblo, captured by North Korea last year. Israeli pilots attacked the Liberty thinking it was an enemy craft. A subsequent investigation in Washington revealed that the vessel had been ordered out of the Middle East war zone but her commander never received the order owing to the misquoting of the message.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
