Father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin at funeral: ‘We failed you. We all failed you’
Addressing his son, the father of murdered 23-year-old hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin tells mourners at his Jerusalem funeral that “we failed you.”
“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you,” Jon Polin says. “You would have pushed harder for justice. You would have worked to understand the other, to bridge differences. You would have challenged more people to challenge their own thinking.”
“And what you would have been pushing for now is to ensure that your death, the death of all the soldiers, and so many innocent civilians, are not in vain,” Polin says.
“Your starting point would be returning all of the hostages,” Polin says.
“For 330 days, mom and I sought the proverbial stone that we could turn over to save you. Maybe, just maybe, your death is the stone that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages,” he says.
“You would keep on pushing for a rethinking of this region. You have said we must take a chance on a path with the potential to end the ongoing cycles of violence,” Polin says.
The mourning father says his son would push every decision-maker to ask themselves if all of their decisions lead to a better future, and to step aside if they do not.
He also explained how his son believed in social justice and was now a global symbol of the need for change in the world, “always seeking to understand the other, and always with dignity and respect.”
“For 23 years of life we had with you were a blessing, we now will work to make your legacy a blessing. You were a really great guy, I love you,” Polin concludes.
