In Jerusalem, hundreds gather to grieve slain ‘child of light’ Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Family, friends and fellow immigrants express sadness over death, hail mother for tireless advocacy; Israelis to line streets in salute for funeral
Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in the courtyard of a local community center in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Baka in a vigil for a local son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of six hostages killed in captivity in Gaza days before his body was recovered by the IDF Saturday.
Goldberg-Polin, “a child of light, love and peace,” will be interred at 4 p.m. on Monday at Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul cemetery, the family said. Jerusalemites will pay respects by standing with Israeli flags along streets as the family drives to the cemetery for the funeral of the 23-year-old.
Autopsies showed the six hostages abducted on October 7 whose remains were recovered over the weekend had been executed by gunshot between Thursday and Friday morning. The government’s failure to bring the captives home alive in a hostages-for-ceasefire deal has sparked mass protests and a general strike.
In the courtyard, railings were lined with oversized yellow ribbons to symbolize advocacy for the hostages; flags of Hapoel Jerusalem, Hersh’s favorite team; and posters that read “We love you, stay strong, survive,” his mother Rachel’s mantra.
“Hersh was alive 48 hours ago,” said Shira Ben-Sasson, one of the leaders of Hakhel, the Goldberg-Polins’ synagogue in Baka. “We think a deal could have saved him. There is no military solution to this.
She added that the egalitarian congregation, which has a large contingent of immigrants from English-speaking countries like the Goldberg-Polins, was expecting a difficult High Holiday period in about a month.
“Seeing his empty seat is hard,” she said.
During the Sunday night vigil, men, women, and children, religious and secular, quietly stood shoulder to shoulder, some swaying to the familiar afternoon and evening prayers.
The crowd included former Knesset member Rachel Azaria and Jerusalem deputy mayor Yosi Havilio. Goldberg-Polin’s friends from the Jerusalem Brigade, the fan club of Hapoel Jerusalem, were there, and many wore red shirts printed with his black-and-white visage.
A table set at the front of the outdoor space was crowded with memorial candles The chain link fence behind the table was hung with banners bearing Goldberg-Polin’s face, with red-and-black scarves worn by Hapoel Jerusalem fans tied around links in the fence.
Those leading the prayers led the crowd of mourners through soft renditions of “Avinu Malkenu,” the Jewish prayer of repentance, along with liturgical prayers and songs of mourning, prayers for the soldiers and the remaining hostages, and finally Hatikva, Israel’s anthem.
But not everyone at the gathering joined in to sing the national anthem.
“I’m sorry, I can’t sing ‘Hatikva,’” Reza Green, a Baka resident who did not know the Goldberg-Polins personally, said. “I’m too angry. We shouldn’t be here.”
Josef Avi Yair Engel, whose grandson Ofir, 18, was released from Hamas captivity in November during a weeklong ceasefire deal, expressed shock over Goldberg-Polin’s murder but said he was not surprised, given the wartime policies of the government.
“We knew months ago this was going to happen. Bibi’s formula, to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages, wasn’t logical. It’s an either/or situation,” Engel said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname. “He’s tearing the country apart. I’m afraid that in the coming months there won’t be a state at all.”
Engel said he felt a close bond with Goldberg-Polin’s father Jon Polin, not only because of their joint activism in the hostage families’ tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, but also because of their shared identity as Jerusalemites.
“There aren’t many of us in the hostage circle,” he said. “We’re like family.”
Sarah Mann, who did not know the family personally, said the weekend’s tragedy reminded her of October 7.
“This day has sparks of the seventh, which created numbness and an inability to talk. Just complete shock,” she said.
Part of the reason for that, Mann said, was Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whom she described as a “force of faith.” The mother emerged as one of the most prominent advocate for the hostages globally and became a symbol in her own right as she crisscrossed the world calling for her son’s freedom.
“Millions of people around the world held onto her. Once that was cut, people’s ability to hold onto faith was knocked out today. But even though this has shattered us, we need to keep holding onto God,” Mann said.
For Susi Döring Preston, the day called to mind was not October 7 but Yom Kippur and its communal solemnity.
She said she usually steers clear of similar war-related events because they are too overwhelming for her.
“Before, I avoided stuff like this because I guess I still had hope. But now is the time to just give in to needing to be around people because you can’t hold your own self up any more,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “You need to feel the humanity and hang onto that.”
Like so many others, Döring Preston paid tribute to the Goldberg-Polins’ tireless activism. “They needed everyone else’s strength but we drew so much strength from them and their efforts, “she said. “You felt it could change the outcome. But war is more evil than good. I think that’s the crushing thing. You can do everything right, but the outcome is still devastating.”
Guy Gordon, a member of Hakhel who moved to Israel from Dublin, Ireland, in the mid-1990s, said the efforts toward ensuring Goldberg-Polin’s safe return have been an anchor for the community during the war.
“It gave us something to hope for, and pray for and to demonstrate for,” he said. “We had no choice but to be unreasonably optimistic. Tragically it transpired that he survived until the very end.”
Gordon, like many others in the crowd, wore a piece of duct tape marked with the number of days since October 7 — a gesture initiated by Goldberg-Polin’s mother Rachel. Unlike on previous days, though, his tape also featured a broken red heart beside the number.
Nadia Levene, a family friend, also reflected on the improbability of Goldberg-Polin’s survival.
“He did exactly what his parents begged him to do. He was strong. He did survive. And look what happened,” Levene said.
She hailed Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s “unwavering strength and belief in God,” adding, “There were times I lost faith. I suppose I was angry with God. But she just kept inspiring us all to pray, pray, pray.”
Jerusalem resident Leah Silver rejected politicizing the hostages’ deaths.
“Everything turns political so quickly. I came here because I felt that before all the protests, we need to just mourn for a moment and to pray. And show respect for each other,” she said. “We’ve become confused about who the enemy is. It’s very sad.”
Born in the United States, Hersh Goldberg-Polin came to Israel at age 7. He was abducted while attending a music festival with a friend on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
