Winograd Commission
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The Winograd Commission (Hebrew: ועדת וינוגרד) is an Israeli government-appointed commission of inquiry, chaired by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, which is set out to investigate and draw lessons from the failures experienced by Israel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The Committee had its first plenary session on September 18 and began summoning and hearing testimonies from witnesses on November 2, 2006.
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[edit] History
- Main article 2006 Israeli reserve soldiers' protest
During the war, the Israeli State failed to provide sufficient material support, including necessities, to the Home Front population of about one million people in northern Israel who were instructed to remain in shelters for much of the war's duration. Government support networks were not activated or were inadequately run and much of the burden to care for vulnerable populations was left to individual volunteers and charities. The conditions of and access to shelters were often substandard, and government assistance to provide northern Israelis with transport and accommodations in central and southern Israel, were highly lacking. As a result of this government inaction, the weakest segments of Israeli society in affected areas suffered the worse day-to-day privations. On the military front, there were tactical, operative and logistic failures. Many Israeli commanders and troops were ill-prepared and ill-trained to meet the combat conditions, in particular, with respect to Hezbollah's use of portable antitank weapons, such as the 9К115-2 Metis-M. Unlike in Gaza and the West Bank, troops inside armor,[1] or taking shelter in houses, became highly vulnerable to these weapons, which are attributed to the majority of Israeli military casualties in the war. As well, with the mobalization of reserve divisions, a host of logistical failures, such as ordnance and food shortages, began affecting reserve soldiers. A key strategic question relates to the controversial decision to launch full-scale warfare in response to the kidnapping of two individual soldiers. [2]
After the war, increasing public criticism and protest over these issues was placed on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, especially to have him call for the establishment of a Supreme Court-appointed state commission of inquiry to look at all levels of government and the military (including the prime minister and chief of staff). For a time, it was unclear which of the three areas —cabinet, military, and civilian homefront— would be investigated by whom, and how. On August 28, Olmert announced the creation of a a governmental inspection probe led by former director of Mossad Nahum Admoni; it became the prototype for the Winograd Commission. A military inspection probe, led by former Chief of Staff, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak which on August 22 ceased work after five days of operations due to increasing public dissatisfaction and calls for a state commission, was also set to be renewed. Olmert hinted that the State Comptroller would examine the civilian homefront, to the public consternation of the latter. In response to these growing criticisms, Olmert chose to replace Admoni with retired judge Eliyahu Wingorad as chair of the governmental inspection probe (with Olmert thereby responding to calls that any leading commission or probe needs to be headed by a retired judge); the probe itself, turned into a commission with a wider mandate, amounting to near-equal authority to a state commission.
[edit] Authority and operation
The commission has the same mandate as a state commission, except that its members were not appointed by the Supreme Court and that its recommendations, especially with respect to resignations, may not possess the same legal weight.[3] During its first week, the commission somewhat controversially, engaged in preliminary meetings with top deicionmakers (including Olmert) to be later summoned as witnesses. For the next several weeks, the commission studied material and worked to decide on the direction of its investigation. On November 2, it began hearing testimonies from witnesses, beginning with the head of the Israel National Emergency Economic Authority, Brigadier-General (res.) Arnon Ben-Ami, who was asked why the Authority failed to be activated during the war despite repeated calls to do so. [4] On November 4, it met in a closed session to hear testimonies by outgoing head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence Amos Yadlin. On November 7, the commission heard testimonies from Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and from Director-general of the Ministry of Defense Gabi Ashkenazi.
[edit] Members
Commission members as of September 18, 2006, include:
- Chair: Justice (ret.) Eliyahu Winograd
- Law Professor Ruth Gavison
- Political Science Professor Yehezkel Dror
- Aluf (ret.) Menachem Einan
- Aluf (ret.) Chaim Nadel
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Tough lessons for Israeli armour", BBC, August 15, 2006
- ^ It is highly unusual —possibly unique in military history— for a nation to mobalize and engage whole divisions or brigades in response to the death, injury, or abduction of individual soldiers, as was the case with the kidnapping of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev which led to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, and a few months earlier, with the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit which led to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
- ^ According to the government, it is to "operate autonomously and independently," has the authority to subpoena witnesses, may "recommend prosecution of any Israeli public official whom it finds was involved with willful or negligent criminal behavior," and is "to make recommendations that will resonate in the public domain in Israel." ("Israel Forms Panel To Examine 'Ill Preparedness'). On September 18, Israel's Attorney General Menachem Mazuz stated that while the commission "'may make its recommendations public, it cannot recommend to the authority who appointed it [PM Ehud Olmert] to step down.'" ("Winograd Committee Cannot Oust PM")
- ^ "Winograd Commission: First day of testimonies finished", Ynetnews, November 2, 2006
