Israeli woman held by Iranian-backed militia in Iraq

Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli woman with dual Russian citizenship, was kidnapped in Iraq about four months ago by an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that operates in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office revealed on Wednesday that she is still alive and being held hostage by Hezbollah brigades. 

“Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive, and we see Iraq as the one responsible for her fate and safety,” the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. “This is an academic who visited Iraq, using her Russian passport, at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University in the United States. The incident is being handled by the relevant authorities in the State of Israel, with concern for Elizabeth Tsurkov's safety and well-being."

As an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, Tsurkov's research focuses on Syria and Iraq, as well as Jihadist groups like ISIS. According to the Van Leer Institute, her work is based on an "extensive network of contacts and research trips in the Middle East.”

Tsurkov, 36, holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern history from Tel Aviv University and a bachelor's degree in communication and international relations from Hebrew University. She worked for various human rights organizations and NGOs in the region for over a decade, including for The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). 

Her family only found out about her kidnapping from the official PMO announcement and told Ynet news they knew she was in Baghdad to conduct interviews with “everyday, simple people” for her research. They lost contact with her in March.

“We tried to understand what happened,” her mother told the Israeli outlet. “I know she was there as an academic. We talked often about her research and how she is planning to write her Ph.D. paper. I knew she was doing the ground research over there. She intended to research political movements through everyday people on the street and held interviews with people to understand their worldview.”

Her mother added that this was not the kind of research one can do via Zoom. 

“She felt that there was no other way to do this research. I spoke to her a few times about other ways that would minimize her risk, but she decided that that was her way,” Tsurkov’s mother explained.

Tsurkov is also a fellow at the Washington-based think tank New Lines Institute. One of her co-workers, Hassan Hassan, told The Associated Press that some colleagues have reached out to American and foreign officials in her matter. They contacted Princeton University and “called on the United States government to be involved in securing her release, despite her not being a U.S. national.”

A senior Israeli official told reporters on Wednesday that “whoever kidnapped her apparently knew in advance that she was Israeli.”

The anonymous official added that "Israel has been monitoring the matter for a long time, and the state is making efforts to return her home, and actions are being taken accordingly."

"Iraq is defined as an enemy state. Israeli law prohibits Israeli citizens from entering there, even those who have another foreign citizenship," the official stressed.

"As far as we are concerned, she is a citizen in distress, and every effort will be made to take care of her.”

The official emphasized that Tsurkov is “not a Mossad agent.”

While there was no official comment from the Iraqi government since Tsurkov disappeared, an Iraqi intelligence source was quoted by AFP as saying that Tsurkov was abducted in Baghdad “at the beginning of Ramadan,” which started on March 23. The source noted that the Israeli woman was taken as she was leaving a cafe in the Iraqi capital’s Karrada neighborhood.

Kata'ib Hezbollah provided no comment on the matter.

The Hezbollah 'Brigades' offshoot organization in Iraq was formed in 2003, after the U.S.-led invasion. The paramilitary militia is known to receive support and training from Lebanon’s Shiite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Kata'ib has targeted U.S. forces in Iraq in recent years and was one of the earliest groups to dispatch fighters to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.

In 2009, the United States declared Kata'ib Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization, saying it threatened stability in Iraq.