Skiing is supposed to be the height of relaxation: athleticism matched to beautiful scenery. But in Israel that pursuit of happiness is always shadowed by terror.
Consider what happened in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday. As he traversed the slopes, an Israeli skier recorded the nation’s Iron Dome defense system shooting down a missile fired from Lebanon. The video, as relayed by Fox News’ Trey Yingst, is extraordinary.
People skiing at Mt. Hermon in Israel as the Iron Dome intercepts a rocket fired from Syria
(Credit: Elad Ben-Moshe) pic.twitter.com/ASd3LM7lU6
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) January 20, 2019
While the Iron Dome prevented that missile attack, conducted by the Lebanese Hezbollah with Iranian support, it’s a striking reminder of the tension of terror in daily Israeli life.
It’s not just skiing. Whenever Israelis go out to dinner or to a bar, they know a suicide bomber might be lurking. When Israelis go on vacation, they know Iranian terrorists might be shadowing them, preparing an attack. Whatever Israelis are doing and wherever they are doing it, they recognize that their lives are under threat from determined adversaries.
We should pay heed to the psychology that such an existence purveys. It isn’t easy for parents to send their kids to school knowing that a rocket might end their child’s life that day. But Israelis do so anyway. They refuse to live in bunkers of fear.
That alone speaks volumes about the Jewish nation. Face-to-face with mortal enemies, it chooses democratic happiness.
