Andrea Kiewel on attack on Israel
She was scared to death all night long
“ZDF- Fernsehengarten” presenter Andrea Kiewel has been living in Tel Aviv with her partner for several years.
© ddp/FoTe Press/Matthias Röhe
Andrea Kiewel experienced the shelling of Israel by Iran at first hand at the weekend. In an interview she talked about her fears.
“I cried in fear, more than once.” When Iran attacked Israel, “ZDF- Fernsehengarten” presenter Andrea Kiewel (58) was in fear of death. She has lived in Tel Aviv for years with her Israeli partner, a former elite soldier. “I didn’t want to die from missiles and drones from Iran,” she said her feelings in an interview with the “Bild” newspaper.
With a sports bag into the shelter
It was “the longest night of my life,” “Kiwi” continued. “I couldn’t stop wishing that it would be over quickly and at the same time I was afraid that it would all be over.” They learned of the impending attack through news broadcasts: “We were asked to prepare for the worst.” Every Israeli knows what to do in this case: “Pack your bag with laundry, water, cans of tuna, crispbread, flashlights, charging cables, etc. and then run to the shelter when the siren sounds.” Her hands were shaking as she packed. She took her most important things with her to the shelter in a sports bag. It is located in the basement of the house where the East Berlin native lives with her partner on the fifth floor. “In an emergency, we run down the stairs into the basement. I think it’s bad, but I’m glad that there is at least this shelter.”
According to “Bild”, they experienced the rocket night as traumatic: They waited the whole night and didn’t say a word. “All hell was literally breaking loose in the sky over Tel Aviv. The Israeli air defense did everything to protect us.” In her fear, the thought of her mother in Germany gave her strength. “It’s my mom’s birthday on Monday. She’s turning 93. That was my mantra: I’m going to celebrate with my mom on Monday…” She was “exhausted” after that bad night, but also “infinitely relieved” that “it’s that “Iran didn’t succeed in destroying us.”
She feels at home in Israel
The presenter feels a close connection to Israel. “When I came to Israel in 2017 with my youngest son, I planted my heart here,” she said in a previous interview. “I am Jewish myself and love this country so much that it has become my home.” In November she told the news agency spot on news that her home was in Tel Aviv. “I have family here.” That’s why there was never a question of returning to Germany despite the dramatic situation after the Hamas attack.
At that time she also said: “Everyday life isn’t everyday life at all, it’s been one day after the other since October 7th. I always try to do something somehow.” She tries to keep herself busy all the time “so as not to get caught up in this roller coaster of emotions and keep checking the news.” After the latest developments, it is not easy for her to remain positive: “I wish I could say that there will be no big war, no third world war,” said Andrea Kiewel to “Bild”. “I pray it doesn’t happen!”