Meanwhile, the government is scrambling to respond to the Supreme Court’s order to explain the reason a State Commission was not established. The Winograd Commission, established September 18, does not have the authority to recommend the resignation of the Prime Minister.
The spokesman and media advisor for the Winograd Commission, Moti Shraf, was in charge of media strategy for the IDF during the war the commission is investigating. Shraf also was the media advisor to the police during the implementation of Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement Plan – which was blamed by retiring IDF Maj. General Yiftach Ron Tal as having decreased the IDF's preparedness for the war the committee is to investigate.
The matter of Shraf’s conflict of interest was raised by the protesting IDF reservists, who have been demanding the resignation of the government since the end of the 34-day war. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has been asked to disqualify Shraf from continued service on the commission.
“The commission realizes that the public has no faith in it and therefore is focusing mainly on public relations,” a reservist spokesman said.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Olmert government to justify its refusal to allow a State Commission of inquiry, Olmert instead opting to hand-select the members of the Winograd Commission, which his own coalition established. Winograd, further, enjoys less power to investigate than a state commission would.
The court issued the decision in response to a petition by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. The government has until Tuesday to hand over its explanation.
Last week, another member of the commission, Meni Ben-Chaim, was disqualified by Attorney General Mazuz due to the revelation that he had been an activist for the ruling Kadima Party during the last elections.
Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported Sunday that government sources have leaked the fact that PM Olmert’s decision not to establish a state commission went against the recommendation of the attorney general. Mazuz told Olmert that a state commission was the appropriate way to investigate the war. The letter Mazuz sent, however, was not a binding decision, but a survey of the various legal options before the government.