Presidents Conference: Panel shows Israel is democratic

The main umbrella group of American Jewry said the Winograd Commission report on last summer’s Lebanon War demonstrates “Israel’s profound democratic nature.”The commission’s report, released Monday, harshly criticized the performance of Israeli leaders in the war. “Israel has again shown
its profound democratic nature and readiness to engage in difficult, even
painful, self-examination,” the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in release Wednesday. “The report’s findings will be subject to scrutiny by
the people of Israel and their elected officials, who will draw their own
conclusions. American Jewish organizations do not play a role in the decisions
regarding the political futures of Israel’s leaders. That is the prerogative of
the citizens of the sovereign State of Israel.”The release added, “The role of American Jewry is to help the State of Israel and the people of
Israel through this difficult period and to offer our continued support.”