On eve of Winograd report, Olmert talks about loneliness
Prime minister attends special Knesset session marking 100th anniversary of birth of Lehi leader, Avraham (Yair) Stern. Parts of his speech appear to characterize his own feelings one day before release of war report
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
on Tuesday took part in a special Knesset session marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Avraham (Yair) Stern, the founder and leader of the Zionist organization Lehi.
As he spoke about Stern, Olmert focused on the leader's loneliness. Many parts of the prime minister's speech appeared to characterize his own feelings of loneliness, particularly one day before the release of the Winograd report
into the failures of the Second Lebanon War.
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"There is something I can't get over when I think about this special, unusual and exceptional person, and that's the terrible loneliness. Alone, in that room, in that hiding place," Olmert said.
"Isolated. With such a small group of people. And with a passion which can't be stopped, a passion of faith, that from that lonely room, from that hiding place, the great wind will emerge and will eventually lead to land's salvation and to the people's salvation."
Olmert at the Knesset (Photo: AP)
The prime minister added, "What was he thinking about in that room? We shall never know. How did he deal with that terrible loneliness in there? Did he sit and wait for the merciless, cruel murderer to come? What were his hopes? Who and what did he pray for? How did he miss? What could he not give up on?"
Opposition Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the great importance of the battle against the British before the State of Israel's inception.
"The United Nations resolution was not what founded the State of Israel.
Israel was founded thanks to the aliyah and the settlement, and thanks to the battle of the Etzel, the Lehi, the Hagana, and even Hashomer and Nili.
"And above all, the State of Israel was founded thanks to their followers, the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who warded off the Arab offensive after the State's declaration."
Earlier Tuesday, opposition Knesset members read quotes at the Knesset plenum from the interim Winograd Commission report
relating to Prime Minister Olmert’s shortcoming in managing the Second Lebanon War.
The quotes were reads as part of the “one minute speech” tradition held at the Knesset every Tuesday.
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