Hersh Goldberg-Polin loved soccer and music. He was curious, respectful and passionate about geography and travel, according to his mother. He was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Israel when he was 8.
About 15 years later, he became one of the most internationally recognized hostages among the 240 who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. For months, his parents made pleas to bring their son and the other hostages home.
But he was among the six hostages who were found dead in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. The Israeli military recovered their bodies from a tunnel underneath Rafah.
This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat, who were held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza. On Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, the Hostages Families Forum announced their deaths while in Hamas captivity. (The Hostages Families Forum via AP)
His family confirmed the news in a statement. “With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” they said. Family members declined to be interviewed for this article, asking for privacy.
On Sunday, tributes to Goldberg-Polin, who was 23 and a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, poured in from many pockets of America. Several people expressed immense grief and recalled moments they shared. To many across the country, he had become a symbol of hope.
Rabbi Dovid Asher, who leads the congregation that Goldberg-Polin’s family attended when they lived in Virginia, said he “has become kind of a name and a face representing the hostages.”
Jeffrey Abrams, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles, recalled a fond memory of Goldberg-Polin’s family in 2010. Abrams was visiting Israel with his wife and three young sons, and after meeting Goldberg-Polin’s parents through a mutual friend, the family invited them to their apartment for a Sabbath dinner.
“Out of nowhere, this nice, lovely young family, with similarly aged kids, expressed one of the core Jewish values, which is to welcome the stranger,” Abrams said. He remembered Goldberg-Polin, then 9, as a “boy with big curly hair riding his tricycle with glee.”
Goldberg-Polin’s family has roots in Chicago, where his parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, were born and raised. In the 11 months since their son was taken captive, they became one of the most outspoken hostage families, delivering speeches, meeting with elected officials and even addressing the Democratic National Convention in their hometown last month.
“Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you,” Goldberg said at the convention. “Stay strong. Survive.”
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