Rachel Goldberg-Polin on Losing a Son in Gaza

When Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s son, Hersh, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, she became a prominent spokesperson for the families of Israeli hostages. Throughout Hersh’s captivity, and then after his murder, Goldberg-Polin, who was born in Chicago and emigrated to Israel in 2008, argued that Israel’s priority should be to bring the hostages home, and that the killing of all innocents, Israeli and Palestinian, must stop. She advocated with Israeli politicians, Pope Francis, and other leaders, and she addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2024. She recently spoke with David Remnick about her new book, “When We See You Again,” and how she has continued her work as a public figure despite unending grief. “People are desperate for us to be angry . . . to feel things that I think that they assume they would feel if they were in the position that we are in. But the truth is, I’m open to feeling anything,” she reflects. “I put Hersh in the ground on September 2, 2024. After that, I’m in a completely different universe.” 

Further reading: 

• “Gaza’s Broken Politics,” by Mohammed R. Mhawish
• “The End of Israel’s Hostage Ordeal,” by Ruth Margalit
• “Why Hamas Agreed to Release the Hostages,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “Hope and Grief in Israel After the Gaza Ceasefire Deal,” by Ruth Margalit

 

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