Israel: official says academic kidnapped in Iraq ‘absolutely not a member of Mossad’ 

Following the report that Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Iraq by an Iran-backed Shia militia, an Israeli official has been compelled to deny any links between her and the occupation state’s Mossad intelligence agency.

“Tsurkov is absolutely not a member of Mossad, period, exclamation point, underline,” a senior Israeli official told reporters yesterday. “She is an innocent Israeli citizen doing doctoral work in Princeton. There is no connection between Israeli officials and Elizabeth.”

Asked about possible Iranian involvement, the official added: “It is not inconceivable that Iran is fully versed in the details.”

The Princeton doctoral student’s disappearance was first reported last month by Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, who noted that she “reportedly entered Iraq on her Russian passport, after being warned previously not to return. While her case is murky, rumours are rife that she was transferred to Iran or something worse. Her twitter account has been dormant since she entered Iraq almost three months ago.”

Yesterday, The Cradle reported new information on the case, citing Iraqi sources as saying that, “She was kidnapped from a house in the Karrada neighbourhood of Baghdad on 26 March.” A senior Iraqi security source also disclosed that Tsurkov’s kidnappers “were dressed in official Iraqi security service uniforms.”

READ: Iran Nour News dismisses Israel report of capturing Iran agent

Following the report, multiple Israeli and western news outlets have published the story. They were joined by Washington-based Newlines Institute, which currently lists Tsurkov as a non-resident fellow and revealed that it had learnt of her abduction in late March “but out of respect for her family’s wishes and the chance that this might be resolved with her quick release, we chose not to publicise it.”

Despite it being illegal for Israeli citizens to visit Iraq, let alone conduct academic research in the country, Princeton has yet to comment on the specifics of her field work, although the university released a statement yesterday, saying: “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.

Very strange. Former Israeli soldier and Syria regime-change operative ⁦@Elizrael⁩ reportedly disappeared in Iraq months ago. Does her neocon outfit ⁦@NewlinesInst⁩ know where she is? https://t.co/L8S1AWZJp1

— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) July 5, 2023

Although she has claimed to be an “anti-Zionist” in response to many of her detractors on social media, the former Israeli soldier has been accused of being an Israeli propagandist and has been criticised for her contact with foreign-backed jihadists in Syria and her regime-change advocacy there.

Investigative journalist Asa Winstanley tweeted that the new report had “forced comment by the US and Israeli government and even an official denial by Mossad that Tsurkov is theirs.”

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