UPDATE: The censor, probably reading these posts, has thought better of censoring Rosenberg’s identity and Israeli journalists will no longer brook the wrath of the censor by naming her. Another small victory against the national security state apparatus. If you support this work, please make a donation using the sidebar donation options.
This story was originally broken by Eran Cicurel of Kol Yisrael (his first story did not name her). He located and pursued Rosenberg and persuaded her to do a radio interview (Hebrew audio here). Her English name is Gillian (Gill) Rosenberg.
Canada’s The National has published a subsequent profile which even casts doubt on earlier parts of her biography which weren’t previously in dispute.
In this social media age, it’s apt that an ISIS-affiliated Twitter user who found Rosenberg’s Facebook profile, sporting pictures of her baking bread for her Kurdish brethren, outed her with this suitably homophobic tweet:
so is this lesbo gonn get charged? “Canadian born Israeli former IDF soldier Gil Rosenberg joins #YPG To fight ISIS pic.twitter.com/0jPJbjoR2Z”
— Muthanna (@muthanna25) November 10, 2014
Apparently, Rosenberg is “lesbo” in the eyes of ISIS because she joined the Kurdish women’s resistance group, YPG. To be a female resistance fighter, to ISIS, you must be lesbian, I suppose.
* *
Yossi Melman (and his Maariv article) and Dan Williams broke a story about a Canadian-Israeli con artist, the ‘Israeli Madoff,’ who contacted Kurdish forces via the internet and went to Iraq to fight against ISIS. Israeli censorship prohibits journalists in Israeli from identifying her. You’ll discover the reason below.
She is Gill Rosenberg. A 2009 profile of her criminal exploits was published here in Maariv. She was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. Parents had scorched-earth divorce. Mother forbade contact with her father and generally suffocated her emotionally. Flew Boeing planes for a civilian airline. To escape Mom, made aliyah to Israel from Canada. Served in the IDF in search and rescue unit of Home Front Command. Attempted, but failed to join Mossad. One look at her background should’ve told them that she’d be trouble!
Economic distress then led her to a pal from the Hebrew language ulpan in which she enrolled after making aliyah. She told him she was game for any scheme except selling her own body. So he recruited her to be a cold-caller in an Israeli version of Nigerian internet scams, which targeted naive older Americans and bilked them out of millions of dollars. The FBI and Israeli police fraud division were watching, taping every conversation as she called elderly Americans telling them they’d won the lottery. They reaped tens of millions from pensioners cheated out of their life savings. When authorities broke up the conspiracy, the Israelis agreed to have her tried in the U.S., where punishments were stiffer for such crimes. She served four years in a U.S. prison.
Released in 2013, she looked around for something new and exciting. Preferably something lucrative. She chose an option not exactly criminal, but certainly in keeping with her daring, off-beat past: she decided to become an anti-Islamist soldier of fortune. She contacted Iraqi Kurds and offered her services to them. She said she specifically offered her military training and expertise to the Kurds. She trained with them and is preparing to join the fighting on the Syrian border. She called an Israeli radio station, which interviewed her live.
Rosenberg has violated Israeli law by traveling to a country considered hostile. She could be prosecuted if she returns to Israel. Though the only figures prosecuted for this offense are Palestinian citizens. No Jews have been arrested or prosecuted for this infraction.
Given that Israel has potentially exported a former con artist to fight ISIS, the IDF censor thought better of revealing her identity so that her past would become known. But given that Rosenberg doesn’t serve in the IDF, it’s hard to understand what the justification for censorship is. Do you claim military censors are entitled to prevent the world from knowing Israelis are mercenaries? Or only when they’re fighting against Islamists?
Another interesting aspect of this case is that Israel is exporting not just weapons, but actual soldiers to fight against the Islamists. Israelis have served as mercenaries for decades and as security consultants for dictators the world over. But having Israeli Jews fighting in Arab lands against Islamists is a new wrinkle, even for Israel.
Richard.
Haven’t many Iraqi Jews from Israel visited the Kurdish Autonomy to visit religious shrines. Why prosecute Ms. Rosenberg?
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/112282/iraq-a-dusty-tomb-sephardi-memories
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16980428
@ Vita: Maybe because she’s a mercenary??
What crime is she punishable for? How is volunteering to fight with, or a train, a non-terrorist military force, criminal?
@ Vita: Are you an idiot? Did you read the post? It’s a crime under Israeli law to visit hostile countries. Let’s spell that out for you: C-R-I-M-E. She’s now traveled from Iraq & into Syria. Both hostile. That’s a crime. Israeli Palestinians have been convicted of such crimes, just for visiting them, not even figting. But NEVER an Israeli Jew.
Richard, I quote you – “Since even in the looming police state known as Israel, a suspect is innocent till proven guilty”. How come she is a criminal when all we know is based on an article but Khairuddin Hamdan is innocent when we see a video in which he attacks police car. Isn’t that double standard?
@ Ariel: A convicted felon who served 4 years in a federal prison is a CRIMINAL.
I didn’t say Hamdan was “innocent.” I never used that word & you know it. He assaulted a police van so he was guilty of some crime. But assault of state property is not a crime punishable by summary execution, except in the looming police state called Israel.
“Terrorist” is all in your own point of view, isn’t it? The Turks consider any Kurdish forces to be “terrorist”, most of the world supporting the rights of Palestinians, view Israel as terrorist, while Israel views Arabs as “terrorist”.
Who to support and who to prosecute?
Muslims who even think of going to fight on the side they sympathize with, are prosecuted in the West, while Jews can go fight on the Israeli side, kill Palestinian men, women and children and nobody pays any attention to their deeds.
Strange world, stranger standards….
Richard.
What on earth does the State of Israel have to do with this story? Israel extradited this whole vile criminal gang, including Rosenberg, to the United States for prosecution and punishment.
Than, upon her release from US Federal prison, Rosenberg briefly returned to Israel before going off to Kurdistan to play a role right out of Conrad’s ‘Lord Jim’.
What’s Israel guilty of this time? I can’t quite figure.
@ Vita: Don’t play the fool with me. You know perfectly well what it has to do with Israel: SHE’S ISRAELI!! She’s a citizen of your country (if you’re Israeli). I don’t know why you’re not proud of her. The enemy (Kurds) of my enemy (ISIS) is my friend and all…
Ms Rosenberg’s bilking the elderly places her in one of the lowest orders of vermin is can think of.
But, if she thinks she can expiate her crimes by joining with the Kurd’s noble cause, than good luck to her. I’d think much more of her if she got a salaried job and began making restitution to the people who’s life saving she stole.
Again, I fail to see what Rosenberg has to do with the State of Israel. BTW. She’s a dual citizen. Is Canada as culpable as Israel in this matter.
@ Vita: I’m rapidly losing patience with you. Either you’re stupid, you can’t read or you’re deliberatly obtuse. Canada is not culpable since she hasn’t lived in or visited Canada for years. She is an Israeli citizen. She lives in Israel. She called an Israeli radio station to brag of her exploits. Israeli media is now covering this story prominently. Do you think Israeli media devote such coverage to stories that have no bearing on Israel?
If you want to remain here as a commenter know when you’re flogging a dead horse & stop flogging. Otherwise, your life history here will be short.
No more comments in this thread either before you kill me with boredom or apoplexy.
” expiate her crimes by joining with the Kurd’s noble cause” …. I almost got tears in my eyes when I read that one. You are very amusing Vita
Vita – The only thing that would have given Richard more pleasure in writing a blog entry is if she have joined ISIS.
Like Bialik said “We shall not be a normal people, until we have Jewish whores and Jewish thieves in the Land of Israel”. Yes, she has Israeli citizenship. Yes, it is a cool scoop to run. Beyond that, I am pretty sure there are more interesting subjects to discuss.
@ Ariel: You have no idea what gives me pleasure or satisfaction. If you think Israel’s self-destruction brings me pleasure you’re a loon and a vicious mean-spirited one. But that’s not surprising given what you’ve published here so far.
Vita and Ariel. The most dangerous “Patriot” is the fool who supports his/her country blindly, unquestioningly and expects everyone else to do the same or be branded as a traitor.
The person who loves the country of his choice most, is the one who constantly calls out for the country to live up to its highest expectations, not down to its lowest possibilities. Such people are too often, mistaken as traitors or haters of the land and its people.
Where would America have been, if it were led only by its blind patriots and not by its “hating traitors”?
Certainly, Slavery would still be in force. Women would by living like they do in Arabia> Five-day work-week? Workers’ rights? Care for the unable? Forget it
You should athnk people like Richard for forcing you to think.
People who target the weak and feeble minded are among the lowest of the low. Gillian Rosenberg offered up all kinds of excuses for her behavior but at the end she was extradited, plead guilty and was sentenced to 40 months in prison. That having been said, how can she possibly be characterized as the Israeli Madoff? She wasn’t the head of the scheme – even the leader, Matthew Getto received a sentence of 150 months. The gang’s take over the course of 2-years was $8 million whereas Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison and the losses he caused were estimated at over $18 billion. Likening Rosenberg to Madoff is a bit much. Rosenberg also served as a search and rescue instructor with the Israeli Home Front Command. She nonetheless had to undergo training with the Kurdish forces and is now serving in an all female unit. She is subject to arrest should she ever return to Israel. She is the only Israeli Jew who has served in a foreign military in a hostile state. No other Israeli Jews have done so. Israeli Arabs who have been arrested for entering Syria have been accused of fighting for ISIS so there’s a difference for you – I assume you’re not suggesting that Lisa Goldman should have been arrested for entering Lebanon with her Canadian passport and broadcasting from Beirut, right? I hardly see how Israel “exported” Rosenberg to Kurdistan. Censoring her name is however, ridiculous…
I presume that censoring her name, and more importantly her image, is a futile attempt to prevent her from becoming a valuable target for captivity by IS fighters which could make Israel vulnerable to extortion by them.
On a different subject, calling her a mercenary requires evidence that she was offered or that she demanded payment for fighting alongside the Kurds. All of the sources mentioned above say no such thing.
@ gordon: People don’t fight in foreign wars without getting paid. I know foreign fighters for ISIS are paid. I see no reason the same wouldn’t be true of the Kurds.
Keep in mind this is a person to whom money is extremely important, who’s always in need of it. It’s why she went to prison in the first place. Mercenaries are generally very well paid. It makes no sense that someone like this would do this out of the goodness of her heart.
@ pea: Did you even bother to read the Maariv story which I linked?? Listen carefully: before you criticize my post YOU WILL read every link fully in the post. Please don’t waste my time by having to point to you information you would’ve known had you done your homework. Rosenberg was named the boss of her office. Workers under her were told she ran the place & they were to take orders from her. She was responsible personally or those under her were responsible for the theft of millions. In Israeli terms, this was a massive fraud scheme which is why I called her the ISRAELI Madoff.
As for arresting Israelis for visiting hostile countries, I oppose Israeli Palestinians being not only arrested but imprisoned for doing so. Either you arrest & imprison everyone including Jews for doing it or arrest & imprison no one. Can you point to any protest you mounted when Israeli Palestinians were imprisoned for this? If not, you’re a friggin’ hypocrite, which is no surprise.
As for Lisa Goldman, she should be ‘arrested’ for engaging in the crime of slipshod journalism, endangering the lives of her informants, & being generally dim, not for visiting Lebanon.
Golly! I read all about Gillian on Google and on the relevant FBI web sites. She was given the same sentence as other low level employees. Mid level and top leaders of the scheme are still in prison ie Matthew Getto the leader who received a sentence of 150 months. The entire scheme netted $8 million. I don’t mean in any way to minimize the losses suffered by the victims, but an $8 million scam pales in comparison to the $18 billion Madoff stole.
The Israeli reporting on this story was faulty on other accounts. Gillian, or Gila, was never a Boeing Pilot. She was merely training to be a pilot and dropped out. Have you ever heard of a 23 year old Boeing pilot?? As for arresting Israelis for visiting hostile countries, I agree with you! The law is dumb. Israelis, especially those with dual nationalities, visit “hostile” countries all the time. For instance, the Druze used to cross into Syria all the time in order to get married or attend University. This was done with Israel’s active acquiescence. People like Lisa Goldman and others like Steven Sotloff (beheaded by ISIS) have visited hostile countries with no intent to do anything illegal other than to report. Others have gone off to fight for terrorist organizations. The law should reflect these differences. I don’t see how that makes me a hypocrite, friggin’ or otherwise. I can express an opinion without having been to prove being active within the realm of that opinion. Sheesh that’s quite a high standard!
Finally, not that this is relevant, Lisa Goldman seems to be doing just fine despite your opinions about her and her work. Man, you really hold a grudge!
@ pea: It was the reporting that was “faulty.” It was the scam artist herself who told them her personal history, which they believed. So why not blame the fraudster herself?
If Lisa Goldman is “doing well” it’s because her pal, Peter Beinart introduced her to her new patrons at the pseudo progressive DC think tank where she landed. She’s an arriviste social climber. As for holding a grudge: when a reporter endangers the lives of her sources in a cavalier manner as she did in Lebanon (and I know this because a Lebanese journalist told me she did), then you bet I hold a grudge. And if you cared about journalism you’d hold a grudge against her too.
She could be in conflict with Israel if she’s helping the Kurds. From what I can gleen from the latest reports, Israel is working closely with Islamic miltant groups in Syria to put pressure on Hezbollah and to liquidate the regime’s nuclear scientists.
Isn’t Israel involved in training the Kurdish military?
Israel was involved on both sides of the Iran-Iraq war, it was involved on both sides of the Ethiopian revolution, why would it not be involved on both sides of the Syrian wars?
As Begin said, “Goyim killing Goyim”; why not help them out?
@ Jeffsiddiqui: Yes, I’m certain Israel is helping & training Kurds though Israel doesn’t flaunt this information.
Agreed, that makes a lot of sense.
SCOOP: The United States, not Israel, had contact with the Jundallah terrorist organization.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/world/despite-cia-fears-thomas-mchale-port-authority-officer-kept-sources-with-ties-to-iran-attacks.html
Someone has to tell Mark Perry the bad news. He’d been played.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/13/false_flag?page=full
There is no contradiction between these two stories. Both can be correct. Can you think clearly?
@ Vita: I swear I think your IQ sinks lower with every comment you publish here. You think that the CIA collaborating with Jundallah precludes them collaborating with Mossad?? On the contrary, once they collaborate with one, they’d certainly be happy to collaborate with the other.
As for who’s been played, I’d say you played yourself (or perhaps played with yourself…).
@Richard
It is entirely plausible that the CIA some three years ago fed some papers to Mark Perry to claim the Israelis are running Jundallah so as to exculpate itself from any charge that the CIA supports terrorism and also to throw cold water on the FBI/McHale ties to Jundallah.
@ Vita: It’s entirely plausible that my aunt was the Queen of Sheba: or at least as plausible as your scenario, which isn’t plausible at all.
@ToivoS
You’re correct. There is no contradiction.
But there is logic and reason.
It is logical and reasonable, in the world of spycraft, that the United States would cover it’s tracks by
blaming another Western power (false flag) for contacts with Jundallah. It is unreasonable and illogical that Israel would seek ties with Jundallah, an ethnic Beluchi separatist movement, when it already had ties with the (Parsi) MKK.
@ Vita: If you’d read this blog you would’ve read a post I wrote about Meir Dagan’s interview with Ilana Dayan in which he explicitly said that Mossad was supporting ethnic groups inside Iran that could destabilize the regime. Note the world “groups,” plural, not singular. Certainly, the Mossad would make common cause with any useful ethnic guerilla movement that could advance Israel’s goal of fomenting instability inside Iran. Why would it matter if the group was Shia or Sunni, Beluchi or otherwise? It wouldn’t.
If I didn’t know better I’d say what you’re doing is shilling for the Mossad. Oh wait, I don’t know better. Hmmm…
What a dreadful human being to have done this to seniors.
Good piece!
One issue though, she’s not fighting in an “Arab land”, she’s fighting in Kurdistan, on Kurdish land.