Bereaved parents of soldiers killed in the Lebanon war are continuing to demand a full-scale inquiry into the war. Premier Shimon Peres, who himself once urged such an inquiry, believes it would be impractical to try to conduct one under present circumstances.
That was the gist of his reply to Ephrat Spiegel, mother of a fallen soldier, Yoav Spiegel. The family recently returned to Peres a certificate of recognition of gallant service which the army sent posthumously.
“I know that my answer will not satisfy you, but who of us can argue with a family which has lost their dearest one,” Peres wrote. He explained that there is no practical chance at this time to form a committee to inquire into the war, regardless of his personal views on the issue.
The Spiegel family recalled yesterday that Peres, when he headed the opposition in parliament, had demanded an inquiry. He subsequently received a mandate from his voters to change the existing situation, Spiegel said. “We shall continue to wage the campaign of all the families which demand an investigation of the war and the trial and punishment of those responsible,” she wrote.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
