Whenever there is a disastrous shortage of anything that would help avert a catastrophe, like the present inferno, the lack of water reserves in he country, the lack of infrastructure in so may areas, the lack of life-saving medicines (and the list just goes on and on), my thoughts always turn to the arrogant "boys" at the Otzar, who automatically turn down budgeting for these essentials. I am beginning to understand now the importance of Wikileaks, which provides a measure of transparency for the arrogance of decision makers.

to here this disaster.All those perished may Hasehm keep their souls.Israel should spend more money on fire fighting equipment and larger planes.Shalom.

Always to late. Talks of purchasing equipment always put off Money for parasites(haridim-politicians salaries-politicians perks -yesiva rubbish)is available but nessesities only recieve a small amount if the taxes go up, Not only the fire services but many important sections are in dire need of replenishment._e.g. SCHOOLS,ROADS,POLICE,AIRPORTS ETC.

Its a terrible tragedy that could have (And SHOULD have!!) been prevented. "They" will build another monument for the dead. "They" will give more speeches about sacrifice and heroism. There will be another high level "Investigative Committee". Accusations and finger-pointing, as to who was responsible. Conclusions and assessments, "Will be reached". And, we Citizens, already know, that its the incompetent bureaucratic laden and corrupt Government that have been talking about this pending crisis in the Fire Services for the last 20 yrs. They have squandered precious resources and time. And now we have 42 dead!! Heads should be rolling, but alas, this is Israel, NO ONE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY..Sad and terrible loss......Its like this, in so many sectors, complete amateurish and incompetent behavior. its actually frightening to think, that : "They" are in "Charge"!!

The fact there were no planes I don't think can be blamed on this government. There is only a handful of small privately owned fire fighting planes in the entire country so this is a matter of neglect on behalf of many governments for decades. When this is over the first thing the government needs to do is buy a couple of very big planes because if it hadn't been for outside help we would not have been able to get this thing under control. Liberman though should save his criticism till the cabinet meetings right now the fire is till burning and there are 40 people who are waiting to be buried.

REPRESENTATION. Israel needs this. As long as Israel doesnt have each and every government official elected by the people we will continue to have the mindset of inter party favoritism, and stooges who are responsible to the party powers, and not to the people. We need to be able to vote in every single MK in the knesset. Each should have their job on the line based on their performance for us.

this is not the time for such discussions. this is the time to help the injured and families that last dear ones. who was at fault when - can be discussed later. and i am sure it was you mr. lieberman that was against everything. your record is not the best.

Its a terrible National tragedy that could have (And SHOULD have !!) been prevented. "They" will build another monument for the dead. "They" will give more speeches about sacrifice and heroism. There will be another high level "Investigative Committee". Accusations and finger-pointing, as to who was responsible. "Conclusions and Assessments", "Will be reached". And, we Citizens, already know, that its the incompetent bureaucratic laden and corrupt Government that have been talking about this pending crisis in the Fire Services for the last 20 yrs. They have squandered precious resources and time. And now we have 42 dead!! Heads should be rolling, but alas, this is Israel, NO ONE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY..Sad and terrible loss......Its like this, in so many sectors, complete amateurish and incompetent behavior. Its actually frightening to think, that "They" are in "Charge"!!

the decision makers are and who cuts our budget and who gives money to parasites. They must be punished with prison sentences and lose all pensions and personal property. Why didn't we have the large planes and the chemicals needed? Why must we go like beggars and ask for help? What if it was a strong earthquake? What if hizbulah fires off ten thousand rockets in a day? We are not prepared for anything. Both national and local politicians and civil servants should be held accountable. Furthermore if it was arson or because of illegal garbage dumps, those responsible should be hung in public!

You are so right! We tax payers do not have our own necessities provided, but we are distributing openly free money to haredimand fat salaries to politicians. Every day we hear that because of the lack of funds our children can not have certain standard of studies. Univercity study fees are reaching sky. No proper safety on roads because of lack of police force, and lack of red lights and circles on required dangerous crossings and roads. Now so many people lost their lives and household because of lack of funds to buy proper equipment against this fire. God help us from all these paracites. They are going to be the reason for the doom of this country. On the name of the jewish nation, they are destroying the very same jewish nation.

I clearly recall that Canadair (now Bombardier) was here in Israel about 10 years or go to demonstrate their famous water bomber. For whatever reasons, the powers-that-be decided not to buy those same yellow planes that Greece who make the water bombers that Greece flew over to help us. Why? Firefighters around the world use large water bombers as a key tool in battling forest fires. Everywhere but Israel, of course. I wonder which bureaucrats had their nose high enough in the air to veto the decision on grounds that it was "too much money", or maybe would have taken profits from the company that flies tiny cropduster planes to spray water on the fires. On of these CL-415 planes is like a dozen little crop dusters. We're paying today a huge price for the short-sightedness of that decision years ago.

It seems that all governments suffer the same ineptitude regarding certain items. Here in the U.S. New Orleans was nearly wiped out. The levies that everybody knew wouldn't hold up in a major storm were never addressed. So when "Katrina" came along the levies broke. It turned out at the Federal level the man in charge was a personal friend of President George W.. His job was one of those appointed by the current President so it changes depending on who is the President. He had NO experience in disaster management. Within 72 hours New Orleans descended into chaos with a failure at all governmental levels. From Federal down to the local governments. Since then the U.S. has made changes, for instance the government appointed job (by the President) must be held by a specialist in disaster management, among other changes. It is just a shame that all governments sometimes fail at the most basic level. The one thing that always stuck in my mind after that was this, a spokesmen for FEMA stated in a interview that it is common knowledge among disaster relief people, and I'll paraphrase him, "That at any time we are all just 72 hours from total chaos, a total social breakdown, where an every man for himself mindset becomes the rule of the day" he said if anybody doubted the truth of that just look at what happened with "Katrina" in New Orleans. While we can find stories of great heroism, the fact is total social order fell apart, rampant looting, robbing, car thefts to get out of town, home break ins, murders, muggings you name the crime it went up during "Katrina". Some stole food and medicine to stay alive, others looted TV's and other valued items hoping to profit from the chaos. Anybody who saw the video's coming out of New Orleans knows what I'm talking about. Those of us sitting in the safety of our homes were shocked and stunned even scared...what if it had happened here...by the images.

It was Steinitz and his predecessors that were too cheap to invest in necessary equipment and supplies, but rather free where government salaries and benefits, kollel stipends and funds for "non-recognized" schools are concerned. And Yishai's Interior Ministry, responsible for fire fighting services, was also negligent. In any other country, they'd resign in shame. But it's also a sign of Israel's ethos of improvisation. They simply don't think long term, but only respond (when they respond at all) to the crisis at hand. Just consider their failure to deal with the problem of infiltration and illegal immigration.

The impact of wildfires is probably noticed by hizbullah planners.

Could we please wait till the fire is out and the dead are buried before we start this witchhunt? The same people who are screaming for heads to roll, would have also screamed that it was an unnecessary expenditure had the government purchased the required planes. You can say, "No, not me" but look in the mirror while you are saying it.

The federal government in the United States can not constitutionally begin to send aid to any State unless the State government first REQUESTS it. When George W. met with the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans on Air Force One days after the storm and offered federal help which the STATE had YET TO ASK FOR, the governor told him that "She would get back to him later." It was up to the STATE to fix the levies. It was up to the MAYOR to develop an effective disaster plan.for the City of New Orleans. The governor was an idiot and the mayor was dumber than dirt. Yet, you fault President Bush for appointing a friend with no disaster management experience to head FEMA. I wonder, do you fault with the Manchurian Candidate for Mullahs currently in the White House for appointing a man with ABSOLUTELY ZERO EXPERIENCE IN INTELLIGENCE to be Director of CIA? Bush Derangement Syndrome is a terribly debilitating disease, Mark from Georgia.

Just remember how easy it was to order a plane for the prime minister.

Liebermans HUGE misstep of playing the blame game during such a tragedy will cost him dearly. While he is tough and engaged in many just causes, he continually reveals his macher mentality and political aims too often to be considered a good choice for high office. It is the very reason everyone is divided on him: he's shown himself to be a loose canon and a danger with ZERO sophistication. Shame on him to attempt to use a tragedy to make others look bad. Question is: if he knew our firefighting capabilities were compromised, why the hell didn't he ever say anything or do anything about it? Shame, shame on him! What a total macher!

The witchhunt should have started long ago before the people died and had to be buried...The witchhunt should have focused on the same people who run this country as if it were a grocery shop in the Shtetl

You are absolutely right Michael, It should have! But, It didn't, so now that It didn't, let the tragedy be dealt with first and then crucify who you will. It still doesn't change the fact that it is the normal human nature to operate in hind sight. You would probably have complained about the cost to the tax payer for larger planes if they had been purchased. I can hear it now, "Why are they wasting our taxpayers dollars for these huge planes to fight fires in such a small country?" So, get off your soap box and mourn the dead! Then, fix the problem.

You are 100% spot on! Unlike Michael who wants to sound like a big shot himself. Some respect should be shown to the victims.

What gives you the right to assume what I choose to complain about. I expect my country to first and foremost spend our money on our personal safety and security...the money, however, is used for other purposes, what the government cynically calls the "price of democracy" or, in other words, paying off the coalition partners. Do not put words in my mouth, David

Those things aren't any good at killing "terrorists".

Planes alone are no good. Israel needs trained wildland fire fighters, cutting line, digging trenches, mopping up. Ever seen an American shot crew work a forest fire in the States? They are the first line of defense. Who is in charge of this mess in Israel?!

Was it was a failure at all government levels. To quote myself: "Within 72 hours New Orleans descended into chaos with a failure at all governmental levels. From Federal down to the local governments." What I said about the head of FEMA was absolutely true, he had no disaster management experience. Now maybe you think that's a brilliant idea that should be continued, I don't. I have nothing against Bush, I liked him as President, it's you that seems to thin skinned about any criticism of Bush. Or maybe your just a die hard Republican, I just don't know. Frankly I don't care. But nobody should head any vital government post without experience in the area he/she is being appointed to. Period. We need to stop rewarding loyalty of friends at the cost of those people being unqualified for the job. Because it doesn't make good government. Whether Republican or Democrat, get it.