Syria says it repelled Israeli strike, anti-aircraft missile fragments hit Israel
NBCJul 05, 2023
The Facts
It has been reported that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli doctoral student at Princeton University, was kidnapped and held by an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia in late March after leaving a cafe in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. She was allegedly in Iraq for her doctoral research.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement addressing Tsurkov's kidnapping on Wednesday, saying that she had gone to Iraq on her Russian passport, as Iraq considers Israel to be an enemy state. Netanyahu has claimed that Tsurkov is being held by Kataib Hezbollah.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Elizabeth Tsurkov is most certainly not a spy, and there is absolutely no good reason for her to be detained in this unjust fashion. The Iraqi government must do everything it can to guarantee her release. It should be noted for future diplomatic relations the high likelihood that Iran was involved in her kidnapping.
Establishment-critical narrative
The details regarding Tsurkov — who served in the Israeli army during its war on Lebanon in 2006 and sided with US-backed terrorists in Syria — and her disappearance seem incredibly murky. She works for the Western and Muslim Brotherhood-linked propaganda outlet Newlines Institute, which raises questions regarding her motive for being in the country.
