This article discusses the one-year anniversaries of two Jewish individuals deprived of their freedom: journalist Evan Gershkovich imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges while reporting for The Wall Street Journal, and academic Elizabeth Tsurkov kidnapped in Iraq.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian academic and Princeton University graduate student abducted in Iraq by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group in March, recently appeared in a video criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza and claiming she was a spy for the West.