'War is shocking'

DW: How does the war affect your life?

Christina Brzuska: I am in Tel Aviv. In southern Israel there are more rocket alerts. There you have between 7 and 15 seconds until the impact of the rocket. It is extremely difficult to maintain daily life. In Tel Aviv, we have one and a half minutes until the impact. That is enough to look for shelter when you are out on the streets.

How often did you have to get to safety?

I haven't counted it. It has been really often. There were many alerts. It is terrifying and very upsetting.

What do you feel in such a moment?

You hope that nothing happens. You take your stuff, walk to the stairs and there you meet your neighbors. The last alert was at half past three in the morning, waking me up. My neighbors were carrying their sleeping children. We were sitting there just waiting for the explosion. Then, we have heard it and walked back inside. That's scary.

How do you deal with the fear?

I try to distract myself. When I realize that the others are scared then I have the feeling that I want to be strong and I want to cheer them up and support them. That also helps me.

How do you try to cheer them up?

I like to make macabre jokes. My neighbor has started knitting. During the alert she has taken her knitting equipment with her. I said to her: 'it's nice to see how far you've got.'

Have you considered leaving the country?

I was temporarily in Italy and considered whether I wanted to go back. But , first of all, I live here. And secondly, I think it is important to show my solidarity. There is huge Israel-bashing going on in social networks and in the media. The Israeli point of view is often not represented at all. There are attacks on synagogues in Europe because of the war.

But actually, the security risk in Tel Aviv is acceptable. The people in southern Israel have to suffer a lot more. Some of my friends have been called up to the military. I don't have to fight here. I "only" have to go to the shelter when there is an alert. So I decided to return to Israel.

There is a lot criticism of Israel because of the many civilian casualties. Is the fate of the Palestinian civilian population a topic among your friends?

That is a big issue. But the question is if you should be blackmailed by it. Everyone thinks the situation in southern Israel is terrible. Everyone thinks that you have to react to it. Hamas' tunnels have to be destroyed. But everyone is equally concerned about the civilian victims among the Palestinians.

What role does the war play in the assessment of your time in Israel?

The experience of the war is shocking. No doubt. But I have experienced one and a half years without war between the two Gaza wars. The [Israelis] have been very nice and easy-going. There are many renowned scientists here. I can directly see what the leading research is doing worldwide. Scientifically it is fantastic. What's more,Tel Aviv is as fantastic as my friends told me before I got here.

Christina Brzuska is a German mathematician and cryptographer. She has been working at the University in Tel Aviv since 2012.