Help Advocate for Princeton Student Held Captive in Iraq


Elizabeth Tsurkov is a Princeton PhD student who was doing fieldwork in Iraq on issues related to human rights. In March 2023, she was kidnapped by Kata’ib Hezbollah, a militia group affiliated with Iran. She has been in captivity for about a year now, but there has not been much progress in securing her release because she is an Israeli citizen (she was on a visa in the US for her PhD). Israel does not have official relations with Iraq, so her ties to the US are her best chance of being released.  Elizabeth’s family believes that there must be pressure on the US government for it to take action, particularly because the US provides funding to the Iraqi government.

We are asking for your help by sending letters to members of Congress (particularly those in New Jersey) so they know that their constituents care about her case. At this website, you can find a template letter and links to email the relevant senators: http://www.bringelizabethhome.com/. It only takes a few minutes to send the emails. It would mean a lot to the Tsurkov family if you took a minute to help out. You can also sign up for email notifications on the website to follow her case and be alerted about future requests for advocacy emails.

You can watch/share her sister speaking about her kidnapping and the advocacy efforts at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mtp-JoH3-I

If you can also share this message and links with relevant listservs or Facebook groups that you’re part of (particularly Jewish groups), that would be very helpful.

Help Supply Israeli Soldiers

You can support IDF troops by purchasing items on an Amazon gift registry called “Registry – IDF TANK INFANTRY DONATION LIST FOR HAYALIM” at https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/26SYFLV0V7WA9. IDF reservists have filled out this registry with specific items that their units desperately need, ranging in price from a few dollars to several hundred dollars. You can periodically (and often) follow the link and purchase as many items as your heart and pocketbook allow. Feel free to share this list with as many people as possible. Make sure that you select the proper destination address (“Registry Tank Infantry’s Gift Registry Address”). The full address is hidden for privacy. Amazon will deliver your items to the destination home in Huntingdon Valley where volunteers will sort and rewrap the gifts into duffle bags. The volunteers will then drive the gifts to the El Al office in Newark to be sent on to Israel where volunteers deliver the bags directly to the units. On Amazon, you can also donate money to cover the costs of gas, duffel bags and other expenses. For more information visit https://tankinfantry.com/ or contact Mark Melmed at mmelmed1@comcast.net.