Secretary of State William P. Rogers carefully followed the voyage of the five Israeli gunboats from Cherbourg to Haifa and reportedly found the episode “very amusing.” He disclosed his interest in the incident in informal conversation at a year-end cocktail party given by the State Department Correspondents Association. A number of other State Department officials indicated that they, too, enjoyed following the unusual affair.
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.