Father of prison guard killed in fire calls on PM to resign

"I'm here to warn that in the next disaster there will be 40,000 killed, not just 40. Anyone who cares needs to stand up and shout."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Bus in Carmel fire 311 (photo credit: Channel 10)
Bus in Carmel fire 311
(photo credit: Channel 10)
In an emotional and angry speech, the father of a prison guard killed in the Carmel fire attacked the government for its mishandling of the disaster and called on the prime minister to resign.
The father of Topaz Even Chen Klein, who was one of 36 prison guards killed last week when their bus was engulfed in flames en route to evacuate the Damun Penitentiary during the Carmel forest fire, made the comments in an interview with Channel 2 on Friday.
RELATED:Funerals held across the country for fire victimsFire and Rescue Service falls short
Commander (res) Ze'ev Even Chen said that "the State of Israel was revealed in its nakedness. Everyone is talking about an earthquake or chemical weapons. I'm here to warn that in the next disaster there will be 40,000 killed, not just 40. Anyone who cares needs to stand up and shout."
Even-Chen called Netanyahu a coward for not coming to give his condolences after the bus tragedy.
The guards killed in the massive fire were participating in a new officers’ training course that started this year, giving specialized training in order to improve prisoner treatment and turn pupils into directors in the prison system.
The course started on October 17 and was supposed to conclude in March 2011. The students were expected to be the next generation of leaders in the prison services.
Topaz Even Chen Klein was 28 years-old and lived in Rehovot.

Melanie Lidman contributed to this report