A kidnapped Princeton University student has been seen for the first time since she was snatched eight months ago in Iraq — in a propaganda video warning that Israeli hostages will be killed if Israel continues its “stupidly run” war.
Elizabeth Tsurkov — an Israeli-Russian citizen studying political science at the New Jersey-based Ivy League school — had not been heard from since March when she was seized in Baghdad by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah.
But in a four-minute clip uploaded to Telegram Monday, a woman appearing to be Tsurkov is seen supposedly confessing to being a spy — while warning that Israel’s war on Hamas “will lead to the hostages being killed.”
“I am in a difficult spot,” the 36-year-old academic says in Hebrew in the video, which could not immediately be independently verified.
“To my family, to my mother and father, Rina, Arkady, Emma, Avital, David, my friends, I call on them to work to secure my release as soon as possible so I can return to them.”
The hostage claims in the clip to be a Mossad and CIA agent who attempted to create violence and demonstrations in Iraq, before addressing families of the more than 220 Israelis being held hostage by murderous Hamas terrorists.
“This war that is being stupidly run by [Israeli President Benjamin] Netanyahu … will lead to the hostages being killed,” the woman says in Hebrew, according to The New York Times.
“If you want your sons and daughters to return alive, the war must stop.”
A spokesperson for Tsurkov’s family said it was “encouraging to see this proof of life video, that was clearly filmed in recent weeks.”
“While we can’t comment on what Elizabeth is saying, we appreciate that this is an important step in the process to bring her home to her family,” the spokesperson said.
A senior Israeli official denied the hostage was a spy, saying Tsurkov is “absolutely not a member of Mossad, period, exclamation point, underline.
“She is an innocent Israeli citizen doing doctoral work in Princeton,” the official said. “There is no connection between Israeli officials and Elizabeth.”
Tsurkov had just left a café in a middle-class Baghdad neighborhood in March when she was kidnapped by members of the terrorist group, her family and others with knowledge of the case told the Times.
“She is an innocent Israeli citizen doing doctoral work in Princeton,” the official said. “There is no connection between Israeli officials and Elizabeth.”
She used her Russian passport to visit Iraq in January “in pursuit of a doctoral thesis from Princeton University,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the summer.
“This incident is being handled by the relevant agencies in Israel out of concern for the security and well-being of Elizabeth Tsurkov,” Netanyahu’s office said.
“We hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being,” he added.
With Post wires.