Slain U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff held dual citizenship, an Israeli official confirmed on Wednesday.
“Cleared for publication: Steven Satloff was Israel citizen RIP,” Paul Hirschon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, tweeted, misspelling Sotloff’s last name.
Israel concealed Sotloff’s dual citizenship while he was held captive by militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after he disappeared in Syria in August 2013.
{mosads}Israel did not provide any additional details about Sotloff’s connection to Israel or whether its government tried to track his whereabouts.
Sotloff, 31, grew up in Florida and was reportedly Jewish.
A friend who was held in captivity with Sotloff told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth the journalist concealed the fact that he was Jewish.
The friend, who was not identified, also said Sotloff even managed to observe Yom Kippur, a high holy day during which many Jews fast. He added that Sotloff figured out how to pray in the direction of Jerusalem.
“He told them he was sick and didn’t want to eat, even though we were served eggs that day,” the friend said. “He used to pray secretly in the direction of Jerusalem. He would see in which direction [his Muslim captors] were praying and then adjust the angle.”
The Obama administration confirmed Wednesday a video that surfaced a day earlier showing the beheading of Sotloff was authentic. ISIS militants released a video only weeks earlier showing the beheading of another U.S. journalist, James Foley.