When is a war not a war?

Even the name of last summer's war in Lebanon has become a source of conflict between the prime minister and defense minister.

On Monday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced he had appointed a public committee headed by attorney David Libai to recommend a name for the war. The committee, which will start meeting on Friday, will submit its eventual recommendation to the cabinet.

However, Minister Without Portfolio Jacob Edery (Kadima), who heads the ministerial committee on ceremonies and symbols, plans to convene his committee next Monday to choose a name for the war. Since a ministerial committee's decision is like a cabinet decision, this could circumvent the Libai Committee.

Yet both Edery and Libai claim that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved their panels' work.

One thing both committees agree on is that their proposed name will not include the word "war."

"According to the cabinet decision, this was a campaign, and we can't change this," Edery explained.

That decision outrages David Einhorn, who son Yehonatan was killed in the fighting. "750,000 people fled their homes, 117 people were killed," he said. "If that isn't a war, what is a war?"