Steven Sotloff

Steven Sotloff
Born
Steven Joel Sotloff

(1983-05-11)May 11, 1983[1]
Miami, Florida, U.S.[1]
DisappearedAugust 4, 2013[2]
Aleppo, Syria[2]
Diedc. September 2, 2014(2014-09-02) (aged 31)
Syrian Desert
Cause of deathBeheading
CitizenshipUnited States
Israel[3]
Alma materInterdisciplinary Center Herzliya
OccupationJournalist
EmployerTime[4]

Steven Joel Sotloff (Hebrew: סטיבן סוטלוף; May 11, 1983 – c. September 2, 2014) was an American-Israeli journalist. In August 2013, he was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, and held captive by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

On September 2, 2014, ISIS released a beheading video, showing one of its members beheading Sotloff.[5][6] Following Sotloff's beheading, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that the United States would take action to "degrade and destroy" ISIS.[7]

President Obama also signed an Executive Order dated June 24, 2015, in the presence of the Sotloff family and other hostage families, overhauling how the U.S. handles American hostages held abroad by groups such as ISIS.[8][9][10][11][12]

The capture and beheading of Steven Sotloff, and of fellow journalist James Foley a month prior, initiated broad public awareness of ISIL/ISIS after the beheadings were shown on the Internet and then on international television.[13]

Sotloff's legacy is, in part, that he broke the Benghazi story to CNN, that there was no protest,[14][15] and that he foresaw the massive Syrian Refugee Crisis as he reported on the everyday people's suffering in Syria, thus earning him the reputation as "The Voice for the Voiceless."[16][17][18][19]

  1. ^ a b Cavan Sieczkowski (September 2, 2014). "For Steven Sotloff, Covering The Middle East Was More Than A Job". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Paul Farrell (August 19, 2014). "Steven Sotloff: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". heavy.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  3. ^ Paul Hirschson (September 3, 2014). "Steven Sotloff, Journalist Beheaded by ISIS, Was Also Israeli Citizen". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "Steven Sotloff Reporting for TIME Magazine". Time. September 2, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Raf Sanchez (September 2, 2014). "Steven Sotloff 'beheaded by Islamic State' – latest". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  6. ^ "After James Foley, ISIS beheads another US journalist Steven Sotloff". The Times of India. September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "Obama says beheading videos won't intimidate US". The Times of India. September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "Statement by the President on the U.S. Government's Hostage Policy Review". whitehouse.gov. June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2016 – via National Archives.
  9. ^ "Obama Announces Change in Hostage Policy". NBC News. June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  10. ^ Jeremy Diamond; Sunlen Serfaty (June 23, 2015). "White House says more than 30 Americans held hostage". CNN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  11. ^ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (June 23, 2015). "Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  12. ^ The White House (June 24, 2015), The President Announces the Completion of the U.S. Hostage Policy Review, archived from the original on January 19, 2017, retrieved July 23, 2016
  13. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (October 25, 2014). "ISIS Hostages Endured Torture and Dashed Hopes, Freed Cellmates Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  14. ^ Tracy Ellyn (December 16, 2015), Steven Sotloff Reporting on Benghazi for CNN, retrieved July 23, 2016
  15. ^ 2012: Steven Sotloff discusses Benghazi - CNN Video, September 3, 2014, archived from the original on April 18, 2019, retrieved July 23, 2016
  16. ^ Baker, Aryn (September 3, 2014). "Murdered Journalist Sought to Give Voice to the Voiceless". TIME.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  17. ^ "Steven Sotloff Gave Voice to Voiceless, Family Says - NBC News". NBC News. September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  18. ^ "Steven Sotloff family pays tribute to journalist who gave 'voice to the voiceless'". September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Life and Light of Steven Sotloff". November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2016.