After a tragedy like the huge fire that claimed forty-two lives and destroyed much of the beautiful Carmel forest Israel resembles a shivah house. At the latter there are always those who insist on knowing every detail of the deceased’s final days. And it doesn’t matter if he or she was 100 years old. One senses in their questions a certain desperation a desire to find some detail to distinguish themselves from the niftar and thus maintain hope that they will be spared from the inevitable fate of all mankind.
And so after every national tragedy we cast about for a scapegoat as if removing the guilty party will somehow prevent all further such tragedies. Often much can and should be learned from disasters. The state comptroller and government are quite right to ask about the state of preparedness for a major fire and to determine what is needed in the event of another such fire which given the frequently parched state of our forests and the propensity of Arab citizens for setting them on fire will inevitably happen.
Israel suffers from a chronic inability to focus attention on looming disasters — e.g. the chronic water shortage the academic brain drain our ongoing educational failures. Too much public attention is absorbed by the security situation the illusory peace process not to mention the perpetual coalition jockeying. And our self-absorbed leaders spend too much time protecting their backs or plotting their advancement to concentrate on the tasks at hand.
That said natural disasters like death are likely until such time as we merit that Hashem will fill the world with the knowledge of Him. Yes if Israel had possessed more fire trucks a few super-tanker aircraft designed for fighting major blazes and better organized fire services the damage from the Carmel blaze would have been substantially less though probably nothing would have saved the vast majority of those who perished when the foolhardy decision was made to send a bus of prison services officer training cadets in a bus to evacuate a prison in the path of the blaze.
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