Sister pleads for US assistance in rescuing missing Israeli scholar in Iraq

The sister of an Israeli-Russian academic from Princeton University, Elizabeth Tsurkov, who went missing in Iraq six months ago and is believed to be held by an Iran-backed militia, is urging the United States to use its influence to secure her release. Emma Tsurkov argues that the US government's financial support to Iraq gives it leverage, despite Elizabeth not being a US citizen. Emma has met with State Department officials and plans to meet with officials at Princeton University, where her sister is a doctoral student. The sisters, who were born in the former Soviet Union and moved to Israel, are now facing the prospect of being apart during the Jewish new year.