It was released for publication on Wednesday evening by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office that an Israeli citizen was kidnapped and is being held hostage in Baghdad by a Shiite militia.
Elizabeth Tzurkov, a Russian-Israeli citizen, was visiting Iraq with her Russian passport to carry out academic research for her doctorate from Princeton University and was kidnapped four months ago by Kata’ib Hezbollah, a Shia militia tied to the Iranian-supported Hezbollah organization.
The Prime Minister Office’s issued a statement on Wednesday stating: “Elizabeth Tsurkov is an Israeli-Russian dual citizen who has been missing in Iraq for several months and is being held by the Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah.”
“Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.”
“She is an academic who visited Iraq on her Russian passport, at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University in the US.”
“The matter is being handled by the relevant parties in the State of Israel out of concern for Elizabeth Tsurkov’s security and well-being.”
Tsurkov served as an IDF soldier and used to work for Natan Sharansky. Sharanky told Ynet: “I’ve been following her fate with great concern for several months now. This is an excellent girl who grew up in Israel. She immigrated to Israel from St. Petersburg with her parents when she was five years old. She did research on women’s rights in the Middle East on behalf of Princeton University.”
Tsurkov, about 37 years old, studied international relations and communications at the Hebrew University for a bachelor’s degree, and Middle Eastern studies and political science at the University of Chicago for a master’s degree. According to a past interview with Ha’aretz, she grew up in Gush Etzion, and changed her views in adulthood.
According to the interview, the center of her life in recent years is with the objects of her research – Syrian and Iraqi change activists, Kurds and Yazidis, Sunnis and Shiites. “I am a doctoral student at Princeton University on class and nationalism in the Middle East, with an emphasis on countries that have experienced civil wars and have ethnic diversity, such as Syria, Iraq and Lebanon,” she said. “But I think that research for the sake of research alone has no significant benefit for humanity, so I try to illustrate the meaning of living in the shadows, wars, and oppression for the local population.”
“I am a researcher at a forum for regional thinking that tries to present the Middle East in a more complex way, which is also based on direct contact with people in the various countries, in an attempt to present a picture that is a little more complex than what you hear on TV.”
According to an interview she gave about four years ago, it appears that she previously visited enemy countries.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
To me she looks like trouble. In any event, why doesn’t Russia get her out?
Her blood is on her own hands. Who in the world would go to those counties???
So what sort of demands with they be making on Princeton?
“To me she looks like trouble…”
Well Brooklyn, to me you look dumb. We have paid “pidyon shivuim” ads running here on YWN from rabbonim requesting funds to pay off debts incurred by some supposedly ehrliche yidden who have somehow managed to incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to the “MAFIA” (whatever that means). Yet, for a baas yisroel who has served in the IDF and holds significant academic credential, you don’t think that EY should make all possible efforts to secure her release?? She is an Israeli citizen and a yid. What is there about pidyon shivuim that you don’t get??
Russia probably doesn’t care right now
If you look up her history online, she was hozer be’sheila leftist, who was attacking Jews and defending Arabs for years. It’s quite fitting that now she is stuck with Arabs, that she so loves. Not a minute of our time, not a shekel of our money, should be spent to get her out.
Wait, so this baas(sic) yisroel served in the idf AND has significant academic credential? Ignore what I said in the last post, we must get her out!
I mean if she was only serving in the IDF but didn’t have significant academic credential, or if she had significant academic credential but did not serve in the IDF, it would be very important to help her, but now that we know that she has both? Spare no costs!
@Bklyntrucker – Russia won’t do anything after Israeli relaitions soured
@ben7863 – Lipa & Zionce
@Gadolhadorah – Many complex Halachik issues on pidyon shivuim (as we saw recent from Gemara Gittin). Usually not a clear black & white case and certainly not here.
If Your pidyon shevuon money gets her out, she’ll marry an Arab in Israel. If she stays in Iraq she has a better chance of getting married to a jew.
Gadolhadorah, dont preach ahavas yisroel and saving a ‘bas yisroel’ and call someone else dumb
Something off. US. Her study is of no value to a Jew. She is on her own. She could be a Muslim spy for all we know
I’m not preaching “ahavas yisroel”. Simple point. If there are pidyon shivuim campaigns for young men and women smuggling drugs into countries with zero tolerance rules than a woman who served in the IDF deserves the support of the state irrespective of how dumb it might have been to travel to Iraq.
Dorah,
Here are your sympathetic responses to pidyon shvuim campaigns for those caught smuggling Khat:
“With all the warnings by the foreign ministry, print and digital media, yeshivos, signs at the airport etc. you would have to be brain dead to not know the consequences of being caught. Obviously, they are doing it for the money and thus should be prepared to serve the time.”
“If they are caught, they should expect to spend several months in jail and rightfully so.”
“If they can’t take responsibility for their own behavior they shouldn’t be travelling.”
“Get the message or look forward to some quality time in a European jail cell.”
“This is pure greed and reckless behavior that warrants sever punishment, although don’t be surprised if you soon see advertisements pleading for funds for pidyon shivuim efforts.”
“Too bad they weren’t thrown into jail for the entirety of Peseach and left to fend for themselves.”
But if someone naive enough to visit hostile countries on numerous occasions gets kidnapped and willingly puts not only herself but her country into danger, your woke religion dictates she deserves the support of the state? Just because she served in the IDF and “holds significant academic credential”?
Sick hypocrite!