Father of hostage thanks Israelis for standing with them: We don’t feel alone after 173 days

Hundreds of people crowd into the hostage family tent this evening at Jerusalem’s Paris Square with Jon Polin and Leebie Goldberg-Polin, father and sister of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Many of those in attendance are wearing pieces of tape marked with the number 173, listing the days since he was taken hostage.

“It strengthens me and my family to see you all here,” says Polin, who adds the gathering is to talk about Hersh, and what people can do for him and the other hostage families.

The crowd overflows into the street, Jerusalem’s Azza Road, and is completely silent in order to hear Polin’s words over the microphone.

He tells stories about Hersh, while his daughter, Hersh’s sister, Leebie, talks about October 7, “which feels like a lifetime ago.”

“To be a hostage or family of a hostage isn’t something that many people experience,” says Polin. “There’s no playbook.”

Polin says the family has been in touch with other former hostages and their families from around the world, to hear what they went through and did, although every experience is vastly different.

He recounts walking in Jerusalem and being approached by a soldier with a big bag on his back, who, after weeks of fighting in Gaza told Jon and Rachel, “We’re doing it to bring Hersh and the others home.”

He says that he and other hostage families went to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market for a few hours, holding placards of their loved ones, and “spoke with the people, with the nation.”

“People said, ‘We’re with you, you’re not alone.’ That’s what we’re feeling for these 173 days so thank you.”