Hapoel Jerusalem soccer club memorializes Hersh Goldberg-Polin in 100th year logo
Sports association kicks off centennial year with new image featuring devoted fan who was murdered in Hamas captivity
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
The Hapoel Jerusalem soccer club will mark the 100th year of its establishment with a new logo featuring a likeness of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the Hamas hostage murdered in captivity.
Goldberg-Polin was a devoted fan of the team, and the image is based on a well-known photo of him brandishing the flag of the Hapoel sports association, whose name means “the worker” in Hebrew.
The sports association was founded in 1926 through Israel’s Histadrut labor organization as a rival of the Maccabi movement. Its original crest displays a variation of the communist symbol, showing a hammer and sickle with a boxer.
On Thursday, the team publicized its new centennial logo, along with video clips of its devoted fan base through the years that included the image of Goldberg-Polin holding the Hapoel flag at a game.
Goldberg-Polin was a devoted member of the team’s fan brigade through his teenage years.
When he was taken captive on October 7, 2023, members of the fan brigade were part of the intensive struggle to get him released, flying the Hapoel flags at rallies and protests, creating giant banners of his visage in the red -and-black Hapoel colors to hold at games and events.
@HapoelJLMfc is so much more than a sports team; Hapoel Jerusalem is a community that blends sports with values and social action. It is remarkable that their just-released official logo for the 2026 100th season is Hersh. Yalla Hapoel! pic.twitter.com/XsxrKdaKTU
— Jon Polin ג'ון פולין (@JonPolin20) May 15, 2025
Last week, Hapoel Jerusalem soccer coach Ziv Aryeh, after his team secured its position in the Israeli Premier League, spoke about the remaining hostages and Goldberg-Polin in his post-game remarks.
“In my opinion, the league shouldn’t resume next season if the hostages haven’t returned,” said Aryeh. “As far as I’m concerned, the country should be turned upside down until they come back. I’m not the prime minister — only the citizens can do something, because there’s no one else who will.”
Aryeh said there was no point in analyzing his team’s season.
“We dreamed of welcoming Hersh Goldberg-Polin back at Teddy Stadium,” he said.
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