Friday, December 8, 2006;
Public Opinion is Dead, By Ze’ev Sternhell (Haaretz)
“Olmert also knows something more important: Our society has changed. A generation separates us from the Yom Kippur War and about a quarter of a century has elapsed since the Israel Defense Forces’ entry into Beirut. Israeli society has broken up into its constituent parts, there is no solidarity or mutual responsibility and the already meager opposition lacks leadership.”
Excerpts;
It would be interesting to know what would have happened at the end of 1973 had the chief of staff at the time, David (Dado) Elazar, decided that he would be the one to investigate himself, or if then chief of staff, Rafael (Raful) Eitan, had appointed a commission of his own on the matter of Sabra and Chatila in 1982. And how would our streets look today had prime ministers Golda Meir and Menachem Begin appointed commissions whose moral authority was doubtful from the outset? Indeed, the state commissions of inquiry Meir and Begin decided on were not established because of their desire to do so, but instead because they were compelled to do so by public opinion. Nonetheless, they bowed to the judgment because they had a sense of moral and public obligation far beyond their formal obligation. read more
