“We are very hopeful that the incoming [U.S.] administration will put an end to the lack of accountability and lawlessness that the Iraqi government is allowed to get away with,” Emma Tsurkov told JNS on Saturday.
Emma’s sister Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton University researcher, has been held captive in Iraq by Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah (“The Battalions of the Party of God”) since 2023. Washington has designated the group (a separate and distinct organization from the Lebanese Hezbollah) as a terrorist organization.
Last week, Emma Tsurkov took part in a meeting with senior Israeli officials and international mediators in a bid to secure her sister’s release.
The meeting followed a report by United Arab Emirates outlet Aram News earlier that week which revealed that a Western diplomatic team had been engaging with Iraqi factions to negotiate Elizabeth’s release.
However, Tsurkov said, the meeting was more of an act of empathy than a strategic gathering.
“My sister will come home when there is enough pressure applied to the Iraqi government by the U.S. government to release her,” she said.
“Our main focus currently is on the change of administration. We are really hoping that there will be more willingness to hold the Iraqi government accountable as they receive a lot of military and financial assistance from the U.S. government,” she continued.
“The terrorists holding my sister are on the payroll of the Iraqi government, who currently have it both ways—they have terrorists on their payroll but continue receiving money from the United States,” she added.
Last week’s gathering was orchestrated by Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Jerusalem’s coordinator for prisoners and missing persons, and brought together foreign counterparts from nations who maintain a diplomatic presence in Iraq.
“We are happy to hear that an effort is being made by Israel,” she said. “However, the Israeli government doesn’t have diplomatic ties with the Iraqi government, they are adversaries. Israel doesn’t have any real direct leverage over the Iraqi government,” she said.
“The clearest, fastest and most direct route for Elizabeth to come home is through Washington and Baghdad, not Jerusalem,” she added.
Looking back at the Biden administration, Tsurkov said that “while everyone was very polite, kind and empathetic, there was no political will to actually hold the Iraqi government accountable.”
She had been told that her sister’s kidnapping was raised “multiple times” with the Iraqis, but there had been no result, she said.
“The Iraqi Prime Minister told President [Joe] Biden in their meeting last year at the White House he would do everything he could to get my sister released and he has since done absolutely nothing and was not forced to do so by the administration,” she added.
While Tsurkov has not yet spoken directly with the incoming administration, she is planning to travel to Washington, D.C., in March to try and meet with elected officials, members of Congress and Senate who could have an impact on foreign policy.
“When the new administration comes in, they will create a new Iraq policy. I will be looking closely to see whether that posture is one of appeasement or whether there is a greater willingness to hold them accountable and examine more rigorously where the U.S. military aid ends up going,” she said.
“I live in California and pay taxes. My tax dollars are getting into the hands of those holding my sister and it frustrates me to no end,” she continued.
“If the incoming administration starts doing a more rigorous examination of the way U.S. allies use funding, it will be a very good sign that we are on the right track to force the Iraqi government to curtail the activity of the militias and bring my sister home,” she added.
While the only proof of life Tsurkov received from her sister came in the form of video footage released in November 2023 which showed her delivering demands regarding the Gaza war, along with other statements evidently scripted by her captors, Tsurkov said she knows her sister is alive and still in Iraq.
