Winograd Commission warned against paying any price for hostages

30. It is important to note that if the social ethos were indeed such that the majority of the public believed that it was right to pay any price to release a kidnapped soldier, this would raise a significant question mark regarding Israel's ability to survive in the area in which it is located. The broad and sincere public support for the families' pain is not the same as the belief that the right thing for Israel is to act to release the kidnapped under any conditions and at any cost. We are not here to describe the Israeli ethos and certainly not to judge it. In fact, it is not at all clear that there is a single Israeli ethos that can be described simply. Israeli society is very diverse, and it has many sub-communities, some of which have a different ethos, or at least different parts of an ethos, than other groups in Israel. This diversity is also a given that is essential for strategic assessments in Israel to take into account.

Chapter Fifteen • Kidnappings as a Strategic Threat

Committee to Examine the Events of the 2006 Lebanon Campaign - Winograd Commission - Second Lebanon War - Final Report Volume I
Shevat 5768 January 2008
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