A Canadian born woman who served in the Israeli army and secretly traveled to Syria last year to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) has returned to Israel. Gill Rosenberg came home on Sunday amid much fanfare from the Israeli media.
Rosenberg, 31, was born in Canada, spent some time in the US, then moved to Israel in 2006. A pilot in her native land, she served in the Israeli army as a volunteer. She made headlines last year when she snuck out of Israel to join the Kurdish YPG resistance fighting in Iraq, and again shortly thereafter when rumors began spreading of her capture. These were quickly dispelled by Rosenberg, who posted on her Facebook page the following day, “Guys, I’m totally safe and secure,” explaining she had limited internet access in the war-torn country.
At some point, Rosenberg moved from YPG to the Dwekh Nawsha Christian militia.
Rosenberg told Ynet in an exclusive interview that she had moved from Syria to Iraq in January, then left for Paris a week and a half ago before finally returning to Israel. According to the news site, she wasn’t sure she’d make it back to Israel.
She told Israel Army Radio Monday she was motivated by Jewish values “do the right thing not just by our own people, but by any human being.”
“I think we as Jews, we say ‘never again’ for the [Holocaust], and I take it to mean not just for Jewish people, but for anyone, for any human being, especially a helpless woman or child in Syria or Iraq,” she said.
Explaining why she left, Rosenberg stated, “[I]n the past few weeks I think a lot of the dynamics have changed there, in terms of what’s going on in the war. The Iranian involvement is a lot more pronounced. Things changed enough that I felt that it was time to come home.”
The Israeli security agency Shin Bet questioned Rosenberg upon her return, but did not reveal whether she would face criminal charges for her actions. Both Syria and Iraq are officially at war with Israel, and travel there is restricted for Israelis. An Israeli justice indicated to Reuters, however, that charges were unlikely.
Rosenberg may not be so lucky with the US. She served time there for her role in a phone scam in 2009, winning early release in 2013 on condition she remain in the US or Israel for the duration of her parole. It is unclear whether fighting ISIS will be considered a violation of those terms. According to her lawyer, Yahel Ben-Oved, “This could be a problem for her.” US officials are weighing her case.
Rosenberg told Army Radio she had to conceal her Israeli identity while serving in the YPG. “The Kurds love Israel. They love Israel and they love the Jewish people. But among the ranks of the YPG there’s also local Arabs and other people that might not be such big fans of Israel,” she said.
