Dror interview destroyed the Winograd Committee's credibility
Yesterday, committee member Yechezkel Dror dropped an astounding line in an interview with the Hebrew daily Maariv:"If we think that the prime minister could further the peace process then that is a very worthy consideration," Dror told the daily Maariv newspaper. "A peace process, if it is successful, will save so many lives that it is a weighty consideration."Dror's statements - which have been discussed and analyzed endlessly since yesterday morning - have destroyed whatever credibility the Winograd Committee had.
When asked whether Olmert should be allowed to see his tenure through to its conclusion, Dror said: "We must think about the consequences. What do you prefer, a government with Olmert and Barak, or new elections that will put Netanyahu in power?"
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Asked if the bereaved parents of the Second Lebanon War are not a consideration, Prof. Dror responded: “I am thinking about the bereaved parents in a future war. If the peace process will prevent a war in the future, so think about those parents, who won’t undergo the greatest pain there is.”
Summing up his viewpoint, Dror said: “The needs of the future must balance the need for justice in the present.”
Israel Radio reported a few minutes ago on a survey that asked the public whether the Winograd Committee was "amin" (trustworthy). Last week 68% of the public answered yes. This morning, only 24% of the public answers yes.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:18 AM
1 Comments:
As I said yesterday, Yechezekel Dror's statement was meant to rescue the "peace process" and I thought it would lead to the opposite result. The public perception that the Winograd findings were a sham meant to save Olmert's skin has not only destroyed its credibility; it shaken public confidence in the impartiality of the investigative process in Israel.
In hindsight the results were predictable since the government in effect was investigating itself and Olmert resisted the usual state commission of inquiry route because in probability would have forced his resignation.
Now the upshot of the Winograd scandal is that instead of giving Ehud Olmert a clean bill of political health, its resulted in his days in office being numbered. My guess is following the collapse of the Winograd Commission's credibility, his departure as Prime Minister is now a matter of time.
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