Getting killed for what?

Gideon Levy, Haaretz, April 1:

The people who appeared before the Winograd Committee have a lot to hide. There are two possibilities: Either they lied to the committee or they lied to the public. The battle to block the publication of the testimonies, with the scandalous encouragement of the committee and contrary to two High Court rulings, is thus a shameful battle, demonstrating that these people do not realize that the information in their hands belongs to the entire public.

They led us into a futile war – and then they try to conceal from us what was behind it? To get killed – yes. But to know? – no. It turns out that even though the Freedom of Information Law has been passed, its underlying values have not been internalized.

There are two twisted premises here. First, that unclassified information is someone’s private property, and second, that it is permissible to lie or hide information from the public. The doors the prime minister and others seek to close to the public are therefore very dangerous doors.

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