Freed hostage Or Levy adopted a mantra he learned in captivity from slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the latter’s parents said at the United Israel Appeal New South Wales Stars of David Gala in Australia on Sunday night.
“Or told us that the mantra saved him,” Goldberg-Polin’s father, John Polin, told the audience at the gala.
The saying that helped Goldberg-Polin while he was in captivity, which then helped Levy, was a “slight mistranslation of Viktor Frankl and Nietzsche: If you have the why, you’ll find the how,” Polin shared.
Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, guests of honor at the UIA event, learned about Goldberg-Polin’s mantra in captivity from Levy, who was freed earlier this month as part of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal.
Goldberg-Polin was killed in captivity in August alongside five other hostages – Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino.
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Encounters with Hersh in captivity
Goldberg-Polin’s parents met with Levy after his release, during which he told them about his encounters with Goldberg-Polin in captivity. The two were taken to Gaza together, along with Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel, but Goldberg-Polin was separated from the others on arrival.
“The three boys went one direction, and Hersh, who had been bleeding out, was put somewhere else,” said Polin, adding that Levy told them he had, at first, assumed Goldberg-Polin was dead because the captors took him away and covered him in a blanket.
Goldberg-Polin and Levy were later reunited when, on day 52, Levy was taken to a tunnel where Goldberg-Polin was being held, Polin said. They were held there together for around two and a half days, he added.
It was during this time that Levy learned the mantra from Goldberg-Polin. He shared with Goldberg-Polin’s parents that his “why” for getting through captivity was his young son. “He had to get home for his son,” Polin said.
Polin told the audience that one of the lessons from the story is to have courage. He said they are doing the right thing in fighting for the hostages and standing up for Israel.
“Find the why and let it be your north star and keep on going.”