Freed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov: 'I survived months of torture in Iraq – I won't be silenced in Israel'

Dec 9, 2025

In a powerful conversation, Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-born Israeli researcher and activist recently freed from captivity in Iraq, shares her harrowing experiences and insights. Despite torture, her commitment to human rights endures amid a changing Israeli landscape. She navigates politics in Iraq, denouncing militia control and corruption while reflecting on U.S. policy shifts and the aftermath of the Assad regime. Tsurkov discusses her recovery and future plans, emphasizing the importance of speaking out about human rights abuses.

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ANECDOTE

Facing Vitriol After Release

Elizabeth Tsurkov returned to social media and received thousands of hostile messages after criticizing Israeli policies.
She says months of torture make online vitriol feel small but she refuses to be silenced.

INSIGHT

How Political Violence Deepens Polarization

Elizabeth argues political violence's purpose is to drive people apart and create hatred that blocks peaceful solutions.
She links October 7th to long-term polarization that will scar Israeli and Palestinian public opinion for decades.

INSIGHT

Elections Show Iraq's Political Bankruptcy

Iraq's elections empowered pro‑Iranian blocs that used money and coercion to buy votes.
Low real turnout (≈37.5%) shows Iraqi citizens are largely despondent about political change.

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After Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was freed from captivity in Iraq in September following two and a half years of imprisonment and torture, she returned to a very different Israel, she said in a wide-ranging interview on the Haaretz Podcast.

Israelis “have changed in very fundamental ways,” she said. “After October 7, the circle of people towards whom Israelis feel compassion shrunk very significantly.”

As she returns to public life as a researcher and commentator on Middle East affairs, while undergoing physical rehabilitation from injuries she suffered as the prisoner of Kata’ib Hezbollah, she has already been attacked by the Israeli right for social media posts in support of human rights and critical of Israel’s policies in Gaza.

Despite being held in captivity, she said, her political views “have not substantially changed: I still see Arabs as human beings, which is an unpopular opinion, it seems.”

In her conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Tsurkov discusses the politics of Iraq – the country where she was kidnapped and held – following their recent elections, calling it a “failed oil state” driven by the behavior of Iranian-backed militias with “no clear path for reform and change.”

She also analyzes the impact of the new regime in Syria, praising the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump towards the year-old government.

She also credits the president with her release. “Trump is the reason I'm free. This is not an interpretation, this is a fact. I know exactly how I came to be released: It was because of threats that were made on his behalf.”

'Strung Up and Tortured': Elizabeth Tsurkov Recounts Over Two Years of Captivity in Iraq

'Things Weren't Easy': After Iraq Captivity, Elizabeth Tsurkov Tells Netanyahu She Was Tortured

What Is Kata'ib Hezbollah?

Opinion | Through My Friend Elizabeth Tsurkov, I Learned That Syrians and Israelis Desire the Same Thing

Elizabeth Tsurkov's past writing for Haaretz

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