`Whether Olmert survives the fallout or not, "Israel" remains an apartheid state

Source: Aljazeera.com, 11-5-2007
By Emma Sabry
Pressure grew on embattled "Israeli" leader Ehud Olmert after the publication of his testimony to a government-appointed panel investigating "Israel`s" humiliating defeat by Hizbullah during Lebanon war last summer.
Instead of accepting responsibility for "Israel`s" failure during the 34-day conflict, the prime minister blamed the army and its chief, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, who has already resigned over the army's mishandling of the war.
"I think the army disappointed itself to a large degree," the prime minister told the Winograd Commission. "Something in the command and control concept did not meet expectations and undoubtedly led to a disparity between what we were capable of achieving and what we actually achieved."
Olmert also said that Halutz had told him that the armed forces were strong "and ready to carry out any mission," adding that a prime minister could not be "a field commander" and had to depend on the army for expert assessments.
"I believe, I still believe today, that my approach was correct," he testified.
The Winograd report, released earlier this month, concluded that Olmert launched the war hastily without a comprehensive plan, and accused him of being guilty of "serious failure in exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence".
The commission - whose criticism was mainly directed at the prime minister, Halutz and defense (War) minister Amir Peretz, who already announced that he would step down - didn't focus on the war crimes committed during the war that forced one-quarter of the Lebanese population to escape their homes, but rather on "Israel`s" embarrassment at failing to achieve its goal of crushing Hizbullah, which dealt a major blow to "Israel`s" image as the region's best-equipped military.
"Israel`s" brutal offensive in Lebanon claimed the lives of more than 1,200 mostly civilian Lebanese, flattened huge parts of densely populated southern Beirut and severely damaged many smaller towns in southern Lebanon. On the other hand, about 160 "Israelis", most of them soldiers have been killed.
For many "Israelis", the scathing report confirms what they had thought for the past ten months: a war led by bungling leaders, who failed to crush Hizbullah or retrieve two soldiers captured by Hizbullah in July, an excuse "Israel" used to launch the war.
Insisting that he was best-placed to fix mistakes highlighted by the report, Olmert, whose approval ratings sunk to unprecedented lows, has weathered a protest rally by at least 100,000 "Israelis" demanding his resignation, silenced calls by his allies to step down and survived three no-confidence motions in parliament.
But the 89-page transcript of the prime minister's testimony triggered renewed calls for his resignation.
Zevulun Orlev, a legislator from the opposition National Religious Party, accused Olmert of trying to evade responsibility by placing blame on the army. "He should take responsibility now for his failings and resign," he said.
The prime minister also faces the possible fracture of his coalition following a May 28 leadership election in the Labour Party. Two top Labour candidates have threatened to end its political partnership with Olmert`s centrist Kadima party over the Winograd report.
Analysts say the key reason Olmert survived this far is the lack of agreement among the many parties calling for his resignation. The huge rally held earlier this month in Tel Aviv, for example, was organized by 11 different political parties, but no politician was invited to address the crowd for fear that this would offend the others.
"There were people from the left and right, religious and secularists, Orientals and Ashkenazim, settlers and peace activists, young (many young) and elderly," left commentator Uri Avnery wrote of the rally. "At one point, I passed ["Israeli" parliament member] Effi Eitam, whom I consider the No. 1 fascist in "Israel", and who may well consider me the No. 1 Destroyer of "Israel". We ignored each other, but we were both there."
However, the vast majority of those who want Olmert's ouster agree that "Israel" had the right to invade Lebanon. What angered them most is the army's failure to accomplish its mission and liquidate Hizbullah.
What's more interesting is that the mainstream media, especially in the U.S., praised the Tel Aviv rally as a sign of "the health of [`Israel`s`] democracy," in the words of the Time magazine; an ambiguous claim that came at the same time that "Israel" announced charges against Azmi Bishara, the most senior Arab "Israeli" leader and a Knesset member, of aiding Hizbullah during the war. The accusations have forced Bishara into exile while he fights to prove his innocence.
Bishara denies the charges, which could lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty, insisting that he is being persecuted for speaking against "Israel`s" policies. But the "Israeli" government considers him guilty for saying that "Israel" cannot be a democracy unless it becomes a state of all its citizens.
"Israel" defines itself as a Jewish state, ignoring the fact that 20 percent of the population are Palestinians, who unfortunately are being treated as second-class citizens.
Unfortunately, such discriminatory policies lead to one conclusion; whether Olmert survives the fallout or not, "Israel`s" apartheid would remain.