Haaretz
Shvat 14, 5765
This Friday, the 30-year ban on
publishing the report of the commission that examined the Yom Kippur War
will expire.
The Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee
has been debating for the past two weeks how to decide which parts of the
report may be published without harming the state's security.
The
Agranat Commission, which examined the war's events, decided in 1975 that
both its report and the protocols accompanying it would remain secret for
30 years - until January 28, 2005. However, the commission did not say who
would decide which parts of the report could be published at the end of
that period.
The Archives Law authorizes extending the secrecy rule
on material in the archives to 50 years - i.e. until 2025. However, it is
doubtful whether this applies to the Agranat Report, because the Archives
Law contradicts the commission's decision to release the report after 30
years.
Fearing the release of secret information, the legal
advisers of the Defense and Justice ministries have been lobbying for a
law to create a special ministerial committee, headed by the justice
minister and consisting of the defense, foreign, finance and public
security ministers. The proposed committee would decide which parts of the
report would not be released for fear of harming the state's security,
foreign relations or individuals' privacy.
The Knesset approved the
bill several weeks ago in a first reading and sent it to the Constitution
Committee for preparation for a second and third reading. Committee chair
MK Michael Eitan (Likud) strongly objected to setting up a ministerial
committee, sparking stormy debate.
Eitan suggested that the IDF
censor decide which parts of the report should remain secret for reasons
of state security, and that a special committee headed by a retired judge
decide whether to publish parts dealing with foreign affairs or personal
privacy.
Tel Aviv University Ethics professor Asa Kasher also
objected to a ministerial committee. He said that it was not suited to
deal with censorship issues. He suggested setting up a professional
committee specializing in state secrets, to examine the issue.
The
Defense Ministry's legal adviser, Zvia Gross, disagreed. She said that
"this is government material that was presented to the Agranat Commission.
The government decides on its classification policy, like foreign affairs
or nuclear ambiguity, not the censor. The censor's job is to make sure
that things that were declared classified are not published."
Eitan
interrupted her. "You're making a very grave statement. You're saying the
censor will put a gag order on whatever is opposed to government
policy."
Gross said that, "the government decides on the policy.
The censor cannot tell it to lay off the subject."
Eitan then said,
"What's the matter with you? Think carefully before you recite those
words, because I think you're getting a little confused."
Later he
said, "The cabinet has a right to preserve any document, subject to the
Freedom of Information Act. In this state, we don't publish just what the
government wants - heaven forbid if this should happen."
Finally,
the Constitution Committee decided to shelve the proposal to set up a
ministerial committee. Tomorrow, it will debate a bill to create a public
committee headed by a retired judge, including by a public figure -
probably a representative of the Press Council - and a cabinet
representative.