From the Frontlines: Emma Tsurkov Fights for 903 Days to Bring Her Sister Elizabeth Home From Iraq

"From the Frontlines" is an ADL podcast which brings listeners to the frontline in the battle against antisemitism and extremism through conversations with ADL staff who are living that battle every day. The frontline in this podcast is deeply personal because it's about one of our own. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton University doctoral student, was kidnapped in Baghdad on March 21, 2023, while conducting research for her dissertation. Leading the fight for her release was her sister Emma Tsurkov who is the Director of Quantitative Research in ADL's Center for Antisemitism Research. She never stopped advocating, never stopped demanding action, and never gave up hope. On September 9th of this year, Elizabeth was finally freed and returned home to Israel. To tell that story, Emma joined this podcast to share her incredibly personal and powerful story. To read the New York Times article on Elizabeth's ordeal mentioned in the podcast, visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/world/middleeast/tsurkov-kataib-torture-kidnap.html. This conversation was recorded in November 2025.