It’s been two years since Princeton Ph.D. student Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped by a militia group in Baghdad, but her sister, Emma, has never been more hopeful.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, there “has been [a] 180-degree change” in approach by the U.S. government, according to Tsurkov, who spoke with PAW in late February while she was in Washington, D.C., for the sixth time since her sister was abducted. “It’s been astonishing, really. … More progress was made in the first two weeks of the new administration than in the two years prior.”
So far this year, Tsurkov has met with the office of Adam Boehler, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; Steve Witkoff, presidential special envoy to the Middle East; New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim; and other bipartisan congressional staffers from both the House of Representatives and Senate to discuss her sister’s case.
In early February, Boehler re-tweeted a post on X by Tsurkov about her sister, and he added that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani is “either incapable and should be FIRED or worse COMPLICIT.” A few weeks later, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ’92 posted on X that “Elizabeth needs to be released immediately!”
According to Tsurkov, the U.S. government is directly communicating with the Iraqi government to “make clear that my sister’s captivity is no longer a nuisance that can be just ignored, but actually a serious priority.”
On March 21, the second anniversary of Elizabeth’s kidnapping, Emma Tsurkov and other members of her family plan to again travel to Washington to hold a press conference they say will be attended by members of Congress.
“My sister is still in captivity, and until she’s home, nothing is done,” said Tsurkov. “But there is definitely a complete shift of attitude, which I find very, very encouraging. For the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to feel hope.”
Elizabeth Tsurkov is a dual Israeli-Russian citizen who was conducting research related to her approved Ph.D. dissertation topic when she was abducted by Kataib Hezbollah, a group considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
The public has not seen or heard her since Iraqi television released a video in November 2023 purportedly showing her confessing to working for the CIA and Mossad — links her family denies — but Emma Tsurkov has had recent confirmation from U.S. and Israeli officials that her sister is alive.
In January, political journalist Barak Ravid tweeted that Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein told him Tsurkov “is alive,” though the Foreign Ministry of Iraq later walked back that statement. The same month, WHYY quoted an anonymous “senior Israeli official” who said Tsurkov was discussed in a meeting of special envoys for hostage affairs.
Princeton University published a statement in late February that read in part: “We have been in frequent contact with U.S. government officials throughout this ordeal and have sought advice from experts. We will continue to do so until Elizabeth is home.”
Emma Tsurkov regularly updates the website BringElizabethHome.com and posts on social media about her sister. She thanked the Princeton community for engaging with and amplifying her messages.
But despite the momentum, Tsurkov is careful not to get too ahead of herself. “Hope is a hard thing to maintain and regain if you lose it,” she said. “So, I try not to let myself get too excited before anything is actually resolved.”
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