The Times of Israel reports that Gill Rosenberg, a 31-year-old Canadian-born Israeli citizen, has joined Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in the battle against the Islamic State. Bizarre, right? But it gets weirder: turns out Rosenberg was arrested in Canada in 2009 for “posing as a lottery official” and scamming elderly victims into paying for “fictive services,” to the tune of $25 million. (She was a member of a ring of twelve Israeli criminals.)

She was sentenced to jail in the U.S. for four years, released early, deported to Israel, and then on Sunday—according to her Facebook page, at least—rocked up in Nusaybin, Turkey, to begin training with Kurdish fighters. As you do! Turns out it’s as easy as traveling from Tel Aviv to Amman, then hopping on a plane to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “In the IDF, we say ‘Aharai’ – After Me,” Rosenberg peacocked on her Facebook page. “Let’s show ISIS what that means.” Her lawyer says it is “exactly the sort of thing” she’d expect of her client.

The full story is here. Leonardo DiCaprio has already optioned the film rights.*

* Joking, obvi.

** But here’s hoping.

(Image: Kurdish Peshmerga fighters rest during fighting against Islamic State (IS) group on November 8, 2014 in the Syrian besieged border town of Ain al-Arab. Credit: Ahmed Deeb/Getty.)

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Join us today at 1:30 p.m. EST for the first Twitter Book Club of 2013. Times of Israel writer Matti Friedman joins us and the Jewish Book Council to discuss his book, The Aleppo Codex, the never-before told mystery behind an ancient text’s alleged disappearance. We’ll be talking Jews, books, and secrets, and everyone’s invited.

Follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #JLit and be sure to follow @MattiFriedman and @JewishBook.

What to do before then:

• Cliffsnotes: Listen to Friedman discuss the book with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry.

• Context: Read Codex vs. Kindle, Matti Friedman’s Visiting Scribe blog post for the Jewish Book Council.

• Reviews: Peruse the New York Times Magazine’s review of The Aleppo Codex, which they call a “High Holy Whodunit.”

We’ll see you at 1:30!

The post Twitter Book Club: Matti Friedman Joins Us Today at 1:30 p.m. appeared first on Jewcy.

• Natalie Portman is one of the celebrities involved in a Facebook campaign drawing attention to the continuing bloodshed in Syria, one year after the uprising.

• “Are you or are you not sleeping with me?” -Drake. “Gross, dude.” -Everyone else.

• Here’s a picture of Ruth Madoff taking out the trash in Connecticut.

• Depardieu, meet DSK.

• Homeland heads to Israel to film.

• Isaac Mizrahi loves the Real Housewives shows, but draws the line at Orange County.

The post Daily Jewce: Elle McPherson Accuses Howard Stern of Acting Jewish During Interview, Ruth Madoff Takes Out the Trash, and more appeared first on Jewcy.