Hamas injured and kidnapped Hersh Goldberg Polin in the Re’im music festival massacre. They held him captive for about 11 months until August 31, 2024, when authorities found his body in a tunnel in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
Key Takeaways
- Thousands of people, including the Israeli president, attended Goldberg-Polin’s funeral in Jerusalem on 2 September, 2024.
- However, nothing succeeded in their repeated attempts to get their son and brother back home.
Hersh was born in Berkeley, California, and then lived in Richmond, Virginia, before immigrating to Israel with his family in 2008 at the age of 7.
He was the son of Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, both originally from the Chicago area.
He had two younger sisters named Leebi and Orly.
Reports state that Goldberg-Polin actively took part in a project that utilized football to bring together Israeli and Palestinian youth.
Goldberg-Polin was at the Re’im music festival when Hamas attacked the morning of 7 October.
At around 8:00am, he sent his family a text message, “I love you“. 10 minutes later he added, “I’m sorry.”
During the attack, Goldberg-Polin and his best friend along with others took refuge in a field shelter.
Hamas militants repeatedly threw grenades into the shelter.
Witnesses who survived the shelter said that they had witnessed militants kidnapping Goldberg-Polin, who was injured, and other people aboard a vehicle.
Following the kidnapping of their cherished son and sibling, the Goldberg-Polin family and their acquaintances initiated a public and diplomatic effort to get his release.
In late December 2023 Goldberg-Polin’s parents spoke to and petitioned a slew of politicians and others in regards to their son.
His mother and sisters wore a shirt with a number taped on it each day to track the days they had kept him as a hostage.
In April of 2024, a video of Goldberg-Polin captured in captivity was published by Hamas, lasting over three minutes.
He identifies himself and declares that the Israeli government ought to be “ashamed” of itself for “carrying their mission in Gaza,” given that they imprison the Israeli prisoners in a “underground hell with no food or water.”
After the video became public, his parents expressed their happiness at seeing and hearing him speak while they pleaded with the leaders involved in the hostage negotiation to assist in freeing their son.
However, nothing succeeded in their repeated attempts to get their son and brother back home.
Authorities found his body on August 31, 2024, in a tunnel in Rafah, Gaza Strip after 11 months of his abduction.
Israeli officials reported that the captors executed the captives in an execution-style shooting in the southern Gaza city of Rafah last Thursday or Friday while Israeli troops were conducting operations nearby.
Hamas released heartbreaking video of slain Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, after the bodies were recovered from Gaza.
In the video he sounded calm, but he looked pale. And despite being 23 years old, he managed to look both younger and older.
Hersh addresses his parents and two sisters while facing straight into the camera and said,
Mama, Dada, Leebie and Orly, I love you, I miss you
Via Hamas Video
And I’m thinking about you every single day
Saying “love you” to his adored sisters, he confides in his parents, hoping to return to them.
Although the exact date of Hamas’s individual recording remains unclear, reports suggest that someone may have taken the tapes some months ago.
On September 2, 2024, Goldberg-Polin was laid to rest in a Jerusalem cemetery.
The family members tore their shirts at the chest as a sign of traditional Jewish grief, signifying the anguish of experiencing a significant loss.
Leebie and Orly Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s two younger sisters, delivered their address in Hebrew.
The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing
Via NewYorkpost
You were a really great guy. I love you
Thousands of people, including the Israeli president, attended Goldberg-Polin’s funeral in Jerusalem.
In her eulogy, Goldberg-Polin’s mother called having Goldberg-Polin as a son a “stunning honour“.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Goldberg-Polin served in the Israel Defense Forces and completed his mandatory service in April 2023.
- 364 people lost their life in the Re’im music festival.
- He loved to play soccer and was a music enthusiast.
