World

‘Positive’ Sign in Disturbing New Video of Abducted Princeton Student

‘IN A DIFFICULT SPOT’

The footage could be the first proof of life of Elizabeth Tsurkov since she was snatched in Baghdad in March.

Elizabeth Tsurkov
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Handout

An Israeli-Russian researcher kidnapped in Iraq nearly eight months ago has appeared in a new propaganda video appealing to the families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“I ask the families of the hostages in Gaza to constantly make efforts to stop the war on Gaza, for the sake of your sons and daughters,” Elizabeth Tsurkov says in the video, speaking in Hebrew. The footage was broadcast Monday by an Iraqi television station linked to Shiite political parties, according to The New York Times.

“This war that is being stupidly run by Netanyahu through his wife, Sara, and his son, Yair, will lead to the hostages being killed. If you want your sons and daughters to return alive, the war must stop,” the 36-year-old Princeton University student says.

The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified, but it would be the first proof of life of Tsurkov since she was snatched in March by the Shiite group Kataib Hezbollah, a paramilitary backed by Iran.

“I am in a difficult spot,” she says of her own situation, calling on family and friends “to work to secure my release as soon as possible so I can return to them.”

The video “is a positive development,” Mickey Bergman, the head of The Richardson Center, an organization that has been helping negotiate for the release of Tskorkov, told The Daily Beast. “Any time a proof of life video is shared, it is an opportunity to start a dialogue.”

Another source involved in efforts to rescue Tskorkov, who spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, said “that it’s clear that it was shot in the last couple of weeks, because of some of the things she mentions, her birthday coming up, and she talks about Gaza and all that.”

“The proof of life is extremely valuable, because it’s a public independent confirmation that she’s alive… It’s an indication from the people holding her that they want to enter into a dialogue. With the goal being to resolve the kidnapping,” the source added. “But we can’t speak to what she says, because any communication from somebody in custody is always considered to be coerced.”

Tsurkov was also apparently coerced into giving a bogus confession in the video, claiming to have been working on behalf of the Mossad and CIA—an allegation her friends and colleagues vehemently denied in previous interviews with The Daily Beast.

“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 U.S.,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement at the time of her abduction. “Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.”

“While we can’t comment on what Elizabeth is saying, we appreciate that this is an important step in the process to bring her home to her family,” a spokesperson for the Tsurkov family was quoted telling the New York Post, noting that the appearance of the video was “encouraging.”

An Israeli official also told the Post the spy claim was nonsense, saying Tsurkov was “absolutely not a member of Mossad, period, exclamation point, underline.”