Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday with Elisabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli-Russian doctoral student who was released after 2.5 years of captivity in Iraq.
Tsurkov and her brother, David, thanked the prime minister and all those involved in her release and in caring for her and her family. In their conversation, she described the difficult conditions of her captivity and expressed hope for the return of all abductees.
Tsurkov, 38, is recuperating at Sheba Medical Center–Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, following the same medical protocols as hostages who returned from Gaza.
She was a Princeton University doctoral student and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, where her work focused on the influence of pro-Iranian factions and the movement headed by Shi’ite cleric Moqtada Sadr. Tsurkov was in Baghdad conducting field research, presumably entering Iraq with her Russian passport, when she disappeared in March 2023.