It had nothing to do with "Jewish political power," veronica. It had to do with the fact that the Johnson Administration had decided to use Israel as its surrogate in the Middle East to counter rising Soviet influence among the Arab states.
Had the truth come out about the deliberate attack by the IDF on our ship, and the killing of our seamen, public outrage would never have allowed the U.S. to establish close ties with Israel.
Israel knew the father of our modern welfare state saw the game of brinkmanship as worth more than the lives of a few paltry sailors, so they went for it.
It's been over thirty years now: You people can drop the pretense.
Was it a policy decision on the part of LBJ that he had to use Israel as a surrogate, or was he blackmailed into ignoring Israel's attack by confidants like Abe Fortas who had the goods on him?