Jerusalem’s hills burned hot last week, and so did the tempers of those who’ve spent years begging the government to wake up to Israel’s wildfire risks. On April 30, 2025, flames tore through scrub and forest near Beit Shemesh and Canada Park, west of the capital, leaving firefighters scrambling and residents choking on smoke. The inferno wasn’t just a freak of nature—it was a disaster foretold, one that critics say could’ve been tamed if leaders hadn’t brushed off nearly two decades of red flags.
Dov Ganem, a grizzled veteran of Israel’s Fire and Rescue Association, didn’t mince words as the blazes raged. For 18 years, he’s been sounding the alarm, pleading for beefed-up aerial firefighting squads and better funding for an overstretched fire service. His warnings, he said, landed on deaf ears. Budgets for fire preparedness were slashed, leaving the country with a skeleton crew of firefighters and outdated gear. On April 23, when an Air Tractor AT-802AF plane dumped flame retardant over Beit Shemesh, it was one of the few modern tools in a creaky arsenal—a stark reminder of what might’ve been if decision-makers had listened.
The government’s blind spot isn’t new. Back in July 2024, a scathing report laid bare the Fire and Rescue Authority’s failures. Only 9% of fires in 2022 and 14% in 2023 were properly investigated, leaving causes—and culprits—in the dark. Over half the case files from 2020 to 2022 were still gathering dust a year later. The report didn’t just point fingers at the authority; it called out the National Security Council for dodging meetings on wildfire prep until the flames were already licking at Jerusalem’s doorstep.
This isn’t the first time the government’s been caught flat-footed. On December 20, 2010, after a monstrous fire in the Carmel Forest killed 44 people, the prime minister blocked a full state inquiry. Instead, a softer report was ordered—one easier to shove in a drawer. Fast forward to 2025, and little has changed. Between 2020 and 2023, 228 cases of suspected arson tied to terror attacks were opened, but only a third led to indictments. The gaps in enforcement and prevention are glaring.
As firefighters battled the April 30 blaze near Moshav Mesilat Zion, the human toll was mercifully low—no deaths, few serious injuries. But the fires still forced evacuations and razed swaths of land. The government’s response? A flurry of promises to “review” fire policies, echoed in official statements on May 1. Yet for those on the ground, like the crews dousing flames under a smoky sky, it’s hard to shake the feeling that these are just words, not water, to put out the next fire.
The facts are stark: 18 years of warnings ignored, budgets cut, investigations stalled, and a fire service stretched thinner than a paper towel. On April 30, 2025, the hills around Jerusalem paid the price.