Headspace CEO caught in missile fight on Israel visit

Geelong’s Jason Trethowan got caught in the crossfire of a Middle Eastern missile fight when he visited Jerusalem last week to help open a new mental health facility.

GEELONG’S Jason Trethowan got caught in the crossfire of a Middle Eastern missile fight when he visited Jerusalem last week to help open a new mental health facility.

The headspace chief had been in Israel just a few minutes last Tuesday when a new spate of violence erupted over the Gaza Strip.

“I had just got in a taxi when I heard a noise, looked to my right and saw what I thought were two jets travelling fast and low, then I realised ‘no, they’re missiles’,” Mr Trethowan said.

“They went straight over our head, and the taxi driver just said ‘oh, s–t’. Then they were gone, and about 10 seconds later I heard two loud thuds, and sirens started going off.

“The taxi driver told me they were actually ­interceptor missiles sent to hit rockets coming in our direction.

“I’d arrived right at the moment the tensions started flaring.”

The Australian Government heightened its travel warnings to the region immediately after the attack.

Mr Trethowan was in Jerusalem to speak at the opening of Israel’s second headspace centre.

Read the article by Greg Dundas in The Daily Telegraph.