Elizabeth Tsurkov abducted by militia group detailed ‘meeting survivors of the genocide’ in Iraq in chilling 2019 post

Prayers and good wishes have been pouring in ever since it was reported that a Princeton Universitydoctoral student who had been missing for months was abducted by a radical Iran-backed militia group while doing work for the school in Iraq. 36-year-old Elizabeth Tsurkov is an Israeli-Russian citizen who was studying political science at the New Jersey-based Ivy League institution. She was kidnapped by members of the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah in Baghdad in March, officials have announced.

“[Elizabeth Tsurkov] is an Israeli-Russian dual citizen who has been missing for several months in Iraq, where she is being held by the Shi’ite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. It added that the Israeli government “views Iraq as responsible for her fate and safety.”

In a 2019 Facebook post, Elizabeth had detailed her experience “meeting survivors of the genocide & ethnic displacement” while in Iraq. “I spent the past days in Iraq, meeting survivors of the genocide & ethnic displacement in Ninewa, Iraqis and Syrians who survived ISIS rule. The horrors they've inflicted on Syrians and Iraqis are immense. The tears at the fabric of society they've created will take decades to heal. There are attempts to reduce distrust between communities in Ninewa, but feelings of insecurity pervade. There is a real sense that Iraq is simply not safe for minorities - I've heard this from people who've returned to live in Ninewa but also those deep inside Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan,” Elizabeth wrote.

“At the same time, ISIS' sweeping brutality shocked conservative communities in Iraq and Syria into reevaluating their traditions and guiding principles. Many activists are working in the vacuum created by these shocks to move their communities forward. This includes poets, intellectuals, activists & ordinary folks, overwhelmingly young, who are publicly challenging commonly held beliefs & practices about the place of religion and tradition in public and communal life. I'll be publishing about this in the coming weeks in longer form,” she added, sharing a photo of “the sweetest candy I have ever had,” which was “distributed by a Yazidi family whose son was recently rescued from ISIS captivity.”

Elizabeth had used her Russian passport to enter the country in January “in pursuit of a doctoral thesis from Princeton University,” as per Benjamin’s office. She is also a fellow at the American think tank the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The institute says that “her research is based primarily on a large network of contacts she has cultivated across the Middle East and particularly in Syria.”

Elizabeth had left a cafe in a middle-class Baghdad neighbourhood when members of the group abducted her, the New York Times was told. She is well regarded as an analyst in Syria. She studied jihadist groups in the Middle East, and holds degrees in international relations from the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, the Times of Israel reported.

Princeton University has now shared a statement, saying, “Elizabeth is a valued member of the Princeton University community. We are deeply concerned for her safety and wellbeing, and we are eager for her to be able to rejoin her family and resume her studies.”

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