WINNIPEG — Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he takes responsibility for the party being "knocked around pretty good" in recent weeks.

Ignatieff told 300 party members in Winnipeg the party has been through a rough couple of months -- a reference to four recent byelections that saw Liberal support slip.

Ignatieff has made sweeping changes to his inner circle, bringing in a new chief of staff and other personnel, and says he wants to move forward.

He says the Liberals are up against what he calls a "ruthless" Conservative party that has launched a stream of attack ads.

The latest attack has come in the form of Conservative mailouts that accuse the Liberals of not supporting Israel.

Ignatieff says the Conservative claims are outrageous, but the Tories say they're simply pointing out the Liberal record.