For nearly a year, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin took every and any opportunity to campaign for their son Hersh's release from Hamas captivity. It was in the early hours of Sunday morning that they discovered his body was among six discovered in a tunnel in Rafah.
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh." The Goldberg-Polin family announced on Instagram. "The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
Goldberg-Polin was born in California and moved to Israel when he was 7. He was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7. He received much media attention due to the activism of his parents to free him from captivity.
Only a day after the October 7 attacks, Hersh's father spoke to the Jerusalem Post. At the time, it was unclear if Hersh was among the captives or the 1200 killed by terrorists that day. At 08:11 in the morning, the Goldberg-Polin family received two final messaged from their son: "I love you" and "I'm sorry."
Hersh was much like many other young adults in Israel, his father, Jonathon Polin, told The Post in October. Jon described how Hersh enjoyed traveling, and music festivals and was an avid supporter of the Hapoel Jerusalem soccer team. His father added that it had been his son's dream to visit India, and he has been working as a medic and waiter to make that dream a reality in a planned trip for December.
His mother in particular was been a central activist in trying to release all of the hostages, and was named to Time’s 2024 annual TIME100 list of most influential people in the world. His parents recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to advocate for his release along with the remaining hostages in captivity.
Hersh had a sense of humor
Hersh was described as funny with a dry, dark sense of humor. Hersh was obsessed with soccer and loves electronic music and has a sense of wanderlust that took him on a solo nine-week trip through Europe in 2023 not long before October 7.
Hersh's parents had recently traveled towards the Gaza border this week, where she and other families of hostages used giant speakers to call out to their family members.
In April, Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin when he was still alive on their Telegram channel, with his arm amputated due to it being blown off in October.
Goldberg-Polin's childhood friend in Chicago, Jeremiah Smith, described him as "the little brother I never had.” The two met when Hersh was just two years old, and Smith, at the age of six, was a student of Hersh’s grandmother, Marcy Goldberg, at a school on Chicago’s near north side. Smith has a truck with digital screens that showed Hersh's face.
“I wouldn’t want nobody else to drive the truck,” Smith said, clutching the Star of David around his neck. “I just want that guy to come home.”
Hersh leaves behind two sisters, his mother Rachel and his father Jon.
Hersh's funeral will take place on Monday at Giva't Shaul's Beit HaHespedim, Jerusalem, at 4:00 PM.
Hannah Sarisohn, Julie Mangurten Weinberg, and Kate Armanini contributed to this report.