Today’s Mass Killings Shouldn’t Distort Our Assessment of Everyday Risk

Whether You Live in a Haven or a Combat Zone, It's Not Safe to Hide From the World

In the midst of the Second Intifada, in summer 2001, I was living in the dorms at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Normally bustling streets were nearly empty. Signs in store windows offered discounts for the “brave tourists” who ventured inside despite the growing violence and tension. Being constantly on alert exhausted me, a short-term visitor insulated from many of the complexities of what was unfolding.

So I was relieved when I left the escalating tensions in Israel in August for the relative tranquility of Spain. And a week later, on …