At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, American-Israeli couple Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, both originally from the Chicago area, shared their heartbreaking story. Their son, Hersh, was kidnapped by Hamas from a music festival during the October 7 attack.
As they took the stage, the crowd of thousands of delegates erupted in a rousing applause and shouted repeatedly, “Bring them home!”
On April 24, as the IDF was beginning to set up tent cities in the southern Gaza Strip ahead of an invasion of the final segment of the Strip still under Hamas control, the terrorist organization whose psychological warfare had complemented the efforts of the anarchist sect inside the Jewish State to bring down the legitimate government since October 7, 2023, released the perfect hostage tape aimed at pulling heartstrings and revitalizing the calls against the war.
Hamas released a video featuring Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was abducted from the Nova party on October 7. Goldberg-Pollin’s left hand is missing, as was already known from the video of his abduction in which he is seen with an injured hand. Hersh had been among a small group of hostages whose fate had been unknown (Hamas’s Hail Mary before Rafah Invasion: Manipulative Hostage Video to Divide Israelis).
Hersh Goldberg-Polin 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 at the Re’im music festival when Hamas attacked the morning of October 7. Around 8:00 AM, he sent his family a text message, “I love you.” Ten minutes later, he added, “I’m sorry.” During the attack, Goldberg-Polin, his best friend Aner Shapira, and others took refuge in a field shelter. Hamas murderers repeatedly threw grenades into the shelter.
Shapira managed to throw seven of the grenades back out, before being killed. During the attack on the shelter, Goldberg-Polin’s arm was blown off from the elbow down. He reportedly managed to fashion himself a tourniquet for his injury. Surviving witnesses from the shelter confirmed they had seen militants abducting a wounded Goldberg-Polin and others on a truck. His family members report to have seen a video of Goldberg-Polin’s actions leading up to him being taken hostage. The video reportedly ends with Goldberg-Polin being shown getting into the back of a pickup truck, with the traumatic amputation and revealed bone of his left arm, showing as he turns to sit down.
בעיקבות הלחץ של משפחות החטופים והשארת הנושא על סדר היום החמאס הוציא היום סרטון אות חיים מהחטוף הירש גולדברג פולין חי !
הירש היה מנותק קשר מאז 7/10
והיה חשש גדול לחייו
מהסרטון עולה כי החטופים מודעים למאבק המשפחות ומעל כל במה.הירש יודע ויותר מזה מאמין שמשפחתו עושה הכל כדי… pic.twitter.com/Pdxg35VucO— Elgarat dani מאבק לשחרור החטופים (@elgarat_dani) April 24, 2024
Rachel Goldberg-Polin described the horrific moment when a grenade severed Hersh’s left forearm before Hamas militants took him to Gaza. “Since then, we’ve lived on another planet,” she told the somber audience at United Center. She urged everyone to imagine the anguish they and other hostage families are experiencing.
Both parents wore tape marked “320,” signifying the number of days their son had been held captive. Jon acknowledged President Biden and Vice President Harris’s efforts toward securing a hostage release and ceasefire agreement.
The Polins called for the release of all remaining hostages and an end to the suffering of Gaza’s civilians. Jon emphasized the widespread pain caused by the war, stating, “There’s a surplus of agony on all sides.” He concluded by noting that in this “competition of pain, there are no winners.”
Rachel began her address by saying, “At this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. They are from 23 different countries. The youngest hostage is a one-year-old redheaded baby boy. And the oldest is in 86-year-old mustachioed grandpa. Among the hostages are 8 American citizens. One of those Americans is our only son. His name is Hirsch.”
