Israeli woman breaks silence on arrest and covert rescue in Turkey

Earlier this year, an Israeli woman named Jessica Bakar was arrested in Turkey and placed under house arrest in Istanbul. Bakar, who was born in Turkey and immigrated to Israel, had traveled to the country to visit family before being detained and later released following diplomatic intervention.

Speaking out for the first time in an interview with Haim Etgar, Bakar recalled the terrifying ordeal, describing how she felt hunted throughout the country and detailed her covert rescue. I arrived at the airport and used all my acting skills, she recounted, explaining how she maintained a calm outward appearance while experiencing intense panic.

I looked calm and smiled, but with every step I took, my pulse raced higher and higher, Bakar said. I tried to be strong, telling myself I had done nothing wrong. As she waited at her boarding gate, four men began checking passports individually before approaching her directly.