Haaretz-03/05/2007

TBC, (Haaretz)

"If Israel's citizens have anything to say about the conduct of their government during last summer's war, then they should vote with their feet and turn out tonight at the protest rally at Rabin Square and demand its resignation.

Most Israeli citizens have no way of expressing their discontent. With elections so far off, the only outlets for their dissatisfaction are various opinion polls. The Second Lebanon War has generated a breach of trust between the state's leaders and their constituents. The reason for this crisis can be deduced from the Winograd report, released earlier this week, on the government's performance during the war.

The report shattered all hope that the government's failures were unexpected, primarily the results of local lapses in judgment or miscalculation with regard to operational plans. Instead, after reading the report, it became apparent that the failures were to be expected, as it implied that decision-makers had exercised no judgment whatsoever. As for the operational plans, they were conceived in a vacuum, irrespective of reality and the general state of the Israel Defense Forces.

The protest rally demanding the resignation of the prime and defense ministers - and possibly of the entire cabinet because of its scandalous performance during the war - will be a manifestation of free speech and of the power vested in each of us by Israeli democracy. Those who seek the easy way out and decide they cannot protest with other political groups that do not share their views will enable Ehud Olmert to appear on television tomorrow morning, claiming that the public does not wish to see him replaced. Those who cannot be bothered to show up at Rabin Square tonight will have no one to blame but themselves.

Protest is not restricted to journalists and bereaved parents. The latter, along with the reservists, have already paid the price of the government's failures and should not be made to bear the brunt of the protest effort. It's the couch-dwellers' turn to fight.

With each passing day, it seems as if the biting criticism of the Winograd report is being defanged and declawed bit by bit by various image consultants, who are on the payroll of those the report criticizes. They are collecting redeeming statements about their clients and plastering them over the harsh conclusions of the committee's report.

Except the report is not about the committee's final recommendation, which is yet to come. It is a disturbing assortment of damning findings, entrusted to the public and the Knesset to make educated use of it by realizing their rights and fulfilling their duty to instigate change."

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