Kidnapping of Hersh Goldberg-Polin

On 7 October 2023, 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin (הרש גולדברג-פולין) was wounded and abducted by Hamas from the Re'im music festival massacre, part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Biography
Goldberg-Polin is the son of Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, both originally from the Chicago area. He 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. Goldberg-Polin has two younger sisters. Goldberg-Polin was reportedly working with an initiative that was using soccer to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together. He had reportedly planned a two-year world travel trip that was to start during the last week of December 2023, before the October 7 attacks.

Abduction


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". 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 militants 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.

Media coverage and efforts to release
Goldberg-Polin's family and friends have launched a thorough media and diplomatic campaign to secure his release. In late December 2023 it was reported that Goldberg-Polin's parents have spoken to and petitioned a slew of politicians and others in regards to their son. They have spoken to United Nations (UN) in New York and Geneva, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, President Joe Biden, US Secretary Antony Blinken, 25 US senators, seven governors and multiple different celebrities and influencers. His mother has taken to wearing a shirt with a number taped on it each day, to track the days that he has been kept as a hostage.

On 24 October at the UN, Goldberg-Polin's mother, Rachel Goldberg, delivered an emotional speech imploring for the release of her son and the other hostages from Hamas: "Why is no one crying out for these people to be allowed access to the Red Cross? Why is no one demanding just proof of life? This is a global humanitarian catastrophe." Rachel also addressed the 14 November March for Israel in Washington, D.C., leading the crowd in a chant of "Bring them home now!" She asked, "Why is the world accepting that 240 human beings from almost 30 countries have been stolen and buried alive?" Goldberg-Polin was not released during the temporary cease-fire in late November 2023 which saw the exchange of 105 hostages taken by Hamas for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners, 107 of whom were children, and three-quarters had not been convicted of a crime. Family members had met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel war cabinet along with other hostages family members to petition to resume negotiations for a new cease-fire. On 27 December, when Goldberg-Polin was reportedly scheduled to start his world travel trip, his father and about 50 others gathered at the Ben Gurion Airport to bring attention to his continued captivity.

On 24 April 2024, Hamas released a nearly 3-minute-long video of Goldberg-Polin while in captivity. In it, he identifies himself, and says the Israeli government should be "ashamed" for "carrying their mission in Gaza" as the Israeli captives are stuck in an "underground hell with no food or water". Goldberg-Polin was filmed with an apparent healed amputation of his left arm, highlighting the injury he suffered during the Re'im music festival massacre. The video was not dated, but based on Goldberg-Polin stating he had been held captive for nearly 200 days, experts believe that the video was filmed recently to its airing. Following the video release his parents issued their statement, expressing joy at seeing and hearing him speak, but also imploring all the leaders working for a hostage deal to help bring him home.