Only weeks after the worst wildfire in Israel’s history ravaged the northern Carmel mountains and claimed 44 lives, Israelis were stunned when the parliament’s finance committee failed to provide any additional allocation for improving the firefighting infrastructure. The fire resulted in a public outcry as the failure of successive governments to act on official reports exposing the inadequate resources for firefighting became headline news. The Treasury’s response to the finance committee’s inaction was to note that a plan is being prepared for submission to the government in about two months. Making the issue more disturbing for many was the committee’s sharp increase in allocations for religious seminary students – a flashpoint in tensions between Israel’s secular and religious communities – while at the same time ignoring what a clear majority of Israelis see as a priority. Although the seminary students receive government support, they are exempt from army service which is mandatory for others.