Pennsylvania Legislators Claim USS Liberty Veterans and Friends are Bigots

A bigot is a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions.

State Rep. Stan Saylor is one of the most vocal of the Pennsylvania House and Senate reps to claim that USS Liberty Survivors and Friends of the Liberty are bigots.

By Eileen Fleming

On April 5, Alison Weir of IfAmericansKnew received THIS LETTER signed by Stan Saylor and Pennsylvania State Representatives Bryan Cutler, Ron Marsico, Mauree Gingrich, Kristin Hill, Greg Rothman, Mike Regan, Seth Grove, Rob Kauffman, Will Tallman, Kate Klunk and Senators Scott Wagner, Rob Teplitz, Kevin Schreiber.

They denounced the USS Liberty Billboard on Highway 1-83 as “inaccurate” and have demanded the Billboards be removed stating: “The roads of Pennsylvania are not the place for your ideological agenda to damage the U.S.-Israeli relationship. The conversation of concerning international diplomacy is the purview of the federal government and states should not interfere.”

When leaders fail people must lead!

ONE reason WHY I ran for US HOUSE in 2012, was because I dissented from federal policies vis-à-vis Israel Palestine.

Just prior to Rep. Stan Saylor and Rep. Seth Grove’s recent trip to Israel, Steve Rosenberg, of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia rightly noted: “Every time you go some place, you come back and you’ve learned something. As a legislator, it’s one of your responsibilities to make yourself a better, smarter, more worldly person during your time in office.”

Having been to both sides of Israel’s Wall eight times since 2005, I totally agree and add this invitation from Israel’s Nuclear Whistle Blower, Mordechai Vanunu to “Hillary Clinton and all the Christians to come and see the real wailing Wall-the Apartheid Wall.”

On 20 May 2016, at 7:40 AM I emailed the following 14 Pennsylvania politicians under the Subject: Media Inquiry USS LIBERTY Billboard

[email protected],
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Dear Senators and Congressmen,

Your Letter demanding a Billboard paid for by FRIENDS of the LIBERTY be removed has come to our attention.

Your Response [or lack of] to the following 3 questions accompanied by your letter of April 5 to IfAmericansKnew c/o Alison Weir, will be published at LIBERTY CENTRAL II  on Memorial Day.

Do you support all American troops and do you honor all US Veterans?

Did you know that Admiral Moorer, General Raymond Davis, Rear Admiral Staring, Ambassador James Akins and other high ranking US officials have come forth stating Israel’s attack on the USS Libertywas deliberate?

Do you understand that Admirals, Ambassadors, high ranking US officials and the GRASS ROOTS have called for every June 8th to be known as USS LIBERTY Remembrance Day?

 

This reporter has NOT received any reply other than an auto-reply that my email was received.

However Alison Weir received this email from Stan Saylor:

Your billboards did not honor veterans and showed your bigoted ideas! Shame on you!!

Stan Saylor, Majority Chairman House Education Committee, 94th District Legislative District, York County

[email protected]

717-783-6426 (Harrisburg) 717-244-9232 (Red Lion) www.repsaylor.com

 

On Friday, Phil Restino of Col. Bob Bowman Memorial Chapter Central Florida Veterans For Peace reported:

PA Rep Saylor just phoned me from his cell phone (717) 870-5733 returning my call and went on and on about survivors and supporters of the USS Liberty pitting veterans against veterans and that what happened with Israel and the USS Liberty was not important because it happened over 40 years ago.

He said that we should be concentrating on helping our veterans. He confirmed that he was one of the dozen or so PA legislators who publicly opposed the USS Liberty billboards put up in PA stating that they were “bigoted”.

When I asked if he would confirm that he made the “You are a bigot!” statement in his email back to USS Liberty Ron Kukal’s email to him, he hung up on me.

During my run for US HOUSE in 2012, I attended a private meeting with Senators MIKE LEE [R-UT], JIM DEMINT [R-SC] AND RAND PAUL [R-KY].

I asked the three Senators if they would support establishing every June 8th as USS LIBERTY REMEMBRANCE DAY:

Senator Lee maintained silence.

Senator DeMint admitted he was stumped and couldn’t respond.

Senator Paul recommended I not focus on old news!

The claim that Israel’s June 8, 1967, attack on the USS LIBERTY is “old news” neglects the simple fact that on that day in infamy, Israel learned they could get away with murdering Americans and the USA Federal Government would cover it up!

Thus, I focus on that “old news” simply because Israel’s attack on the USS LIBERTY altered a fairly well balanced Middle East policy into blind allegiance to Zionist policies that endanger this homeland!

Many years after the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Shmuel Kislev, the chief air controller at general headquarters in Tel Aviv, confessed that he knew the U.S.S. LIBERTY was an American ship as soon as an Israeli pilot radioed in its hull numbers.

Two months before the sailor’s mass burial at Arlington Cemetery, Navy analysis also uncovered that the Israeli torpedo boat gunners had targeted the spy ship with 40-mm tracer rounds made in the United States.

In 1967, H.R. Gross, a Republican from Iowa stood up in the House of Representatives and asked:

Is this Government now, directly or indirectly, subsidizing Israel in the payment of full compensation for the lives that were destroyed, the suffering of the wounded, and the damage from this wanton attack? It can well be asked whether these Americans were the victims of bombs, machine gun bullets and torpedoes manufactured in the United States and dished out as military assistance under foreign aid.

 

By November 1967, USA lawmakers were willing to spend six million tax dollars to build schools in Israel and Representative Gross introduced an amendment that:

Not one dollar of U.S. credit or aid of any kind should go to Israel until there is a firm settlement with regard to the attack and full reparations have been made [and Israel] provides full and complete reparations for the killing and wounding of more than 100 United States citizens in the wanton, unprovoked attack…

I wonder how you would feel if you were the father of one of the boys who was killed in that connection-or perhaps you do not have any feelings with respect to these young men who were killed, wounded and maimed, or their families.

Godspeed on all Americans wondering the same and for the establishment of every June 8 to be known as USS LIBERTY REMEMBRANCE DAY!