Friends of Israeli-Canadian fighter said snatched by IS: 'Gold medal for terror group'
Reports that Gill Rosenberg may have been captured by the Islamic State in Syria have her friends in Israel and abroad deeply concerned. 'She's North American, Israeli and Jewish – a prize for them,' one friend said.
"My heart just sank to my stomach when I first heard about it," said Charlie Vardi, an Israeli friend of Gill Rosenberg, the Israeli-Canadian who according to unconfirmed reports that emerged Saturday, was taken captive by the radical Islamic State terror group after joining Kurdish forces in their battle.
As of yet, the Islamic State has not issued an official statement on the matter. Kurdish sources denied that the Israeli was kidnapped. One Kurdish source said that there are no foreigners fighting with Kurds in the area where it was claimed Rosenberg was kidnapped. The Canadian government announced that it was looking into the reports, as Rosenberg is a Canadian citizen.
The Foreign Ministry is also closely following the reports. Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that "the Foreign Ministry is closely following the different reports about the Israeli kidnapped by the Islamic State and is attempting to obtain more information."
Rosenberg's family has yet to contact the Foreign Ministry. Diplomatic sources said that there are question marks regarding whether Rosenberg was truly kidnapped.
Vardi, a resident of Tzur Hadassah, got to know Rosenberg through a podcast he had recorded about life in Israel. Gil had tuned into the show regularly while she was still living in Canada, and maintained a good relationship with Vardi and his family in Israel.
"Gila", which is how Vardi and his family call Rosenberg, "sent a few mails and Facebook messages since she left for Syria, in which she wrote that she would be back home in two weeks, but didn't elaborate beyond that," he said. "I really hope that Israel will take all measures necessary to get Gila back home, in Israel. Of course if the Islamic State is holding her, it would be like a gold medal for them since she is North American, Israeli and Jewish."
A childhood friend of Rosenberg, who lives in Canada, told Ynet: "God I hope it's just a rumor. The last time I heard from her was two weeks ago, when she wrote that she doesn't have access to Facebook and that someone else will be managing her page. Everyone is worried about Gill."
Vardi, who was stunned by the news, added: "Unfortunately, I know how these things work: they wouldn't make such a claim if it weren't true, if they couldn't prove it. Gila went there to help people who could not help themselves. If it happened, it's a tragedy."
An old American friend of Rosenberg's spoke to Ynet after the reports surfaced, saying: "If it's true, it's a very unfortunate development of events. I have not heard from Gill since she left for Iraq, except for what she publicly posted on her Facebook page. My primary concern is for the safety and welfare of Gill."
Do you understand Gill's desire to join the ranks of fighters against the Islamic State?
I understand her love for Israel and her strong desire to be active. I really hope that if the reports are true, they are treating her with respect, in a humane and proper way and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions."
Gill wanted to be a pilot
Rosenberg, who joined Kurdish forces in their battle against the terror group in Syria several weeks ago, had always been adventurous and courageous, her friends say. Although she did not tell all her acquaintances about her dangerous plan, they said that weren't surprised when they found out.
"Gila is one of the nicest people I know," Vardi added. "She's quiet, somewhat shy, has a good sense of humor and is very enthusiastic." Speaking about her adventurous nature, he said: "Gila has been flying places since she was a little girl in Canada, since she was 10 or 11.
"Her family had a farm there and owned a plane; she learned to fly at a young age and continued to take an interest in aviation until she received her license as a commercial pilot in her early 20s and was a pilot in a large non-governmental company…what she really wanted to do is to learn to fly fighter planes. She was planning on joining the US Air Force but then realized that it's better to learn from the best, and thought that the Israeli Air Force was the best there was."
Rosenberg, 31, is a civil aviation pilot who enlisted in an Israeli army search-and-rescue unit before being arrested in 2009, extradited to the United States and jailed over an international phone scam, one of her former lawyers said.
Gill's story was first reported by Israeli radio. She recounted how smugglers helped her cross from Iraq into Syria in order to join the Kurdish ranks. "They (the Kurds) are our brothers. They are good people. They love life, a lot like us, really," Rosenberg said, explaining why she joined up after contacting the guerrillas over the Internet.
Rosenberg said that she had made contact with the Kurds through Facebook, asking them to allow her to join the Kurdish People's Protection Units, commonly known as the YPG.
Rosenberg immigrated to Israel from Canada in 2006, after studying at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and left behind a promising career as a pilot of Boeing planes for civilian airlines.
On her Facebook page, Rosenberg shared her plans for her mission in Syria two months in advance, when she uploaded a picture from Jerusalem showing an Israeli flag next to an Islamic State flag, and continued posting images until November 1 - her final day in Israel.
She then promised to upload pictures of herself wearing the uniform of the Kurdish forces. "As soon as the tailor finishes customizing my uniform, I'll post the pictures," she wrote. The next day, she posted a picture of her red boots. "It's been a long time, but it feels great to wear them again."
She later posted pictures from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, and then from Erbil International Airport in Kurdistan. On November 9, she uploaded images from the Kurdish region of Syria and wrote, "In the IDF (Israeli army), we say 'aharai', After Me. Let's show ISIS (Islamic State) what that means." A friend wrote, "Take care of yourself, friend. You are one strong woman, and you'll destroy the Islamic State."
A source in the Kurdistan region with knowledge of the issue said Rosenberg was the first foreign woman to join YPG, the Kurds' dominant fighting force in northern Syria. She has crossed into Syria and is one of around 10 Westerners recruited by YPG, the source said.
Itamar Eichner and Reuters contributed to this report.
