Speculation Over Gill Rosenberg’s Return To Iraq On Behalf of Steve Maman

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by Suzanne Vega
Israeli-Canadian who fought alongside the Kurds for more than six months is said to have returned to the Middle East to assist the freed Yazidi women and Children who were liberated by a Jewish Montreal businessman.

Channel 2 reported that Gill Rosenberg, 31, had returned to Iraq last week at the request of Steve Maman, the man who founded the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq project.

The organization claims they have saved 128 women and children from sex slavery and abuse at the hands of the Islamic State.

Maman told Channel 2 that he had contacted Rosenberg on Facebook upon her return from Iraqi Kurdistan, and recruited her in his efforts to free Yazidi women.

He assures she is in a safe place and was using her local connections to free additional Yazidis, but many from the Yazidi society are skeptical and wonder if he could be risking additional lives by publicizing the missions.

On Saturday, a group of Yazidi spiritual leaders, politicians, activists and aid workers demanded that Maman provide evidence that he is saving lives. In a letter to Vice News a Yazidi rights advocacy group highlights numerous issues with how Maman has conducted his work, as reported by the Times of Israel.

They question whether Christians are even being persecuted by the Islamic state and whether he is actually rescuing them. In addition, their funding to save the 102 people they claimed to have saved two weeks ago doesn’t align with the mere $80,000 they have raised.

The letter also argues that Maman has “has brought a high level of visibility to a delicate and sensitive rescue effort that should have been kept low-profile. We are concerned that this may be reckless.”

Maman responded that he has not disclosed the names of the 128 victims because he wants to protect their identities and compromise the work he is doing.

In attempts to diffuse the situation, Maman also told Vice News on Tuesday that he was going to have journalists accompany future rescue trips, including one on Wednesday, to show evidence of his work.

http://jpupdates.com/2015/09/02/speculation-over-gill-rosenbergs-return-to-iraq-on-behalf-of-steve-maman/