The parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin spoke about a newly released video showing their son and other hostages being abducted on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists, stating that they hope it can serve as a “call of action.”
Jonathan Polin and his wife, Rachel Goldberg, spoke with NBC News before the Hostages and Missing Families forum released a video on Monday showing the abduction of Goldberg-Polin, Eliya Cohen, and Or Levy. Hersh is one of five Americans who are still being held hostage by Hamas.
“That’s our son,” Goldberg-Polin’s father told the outlet. “I want all viewers of this video to think in that kind of personal way about what we’re dealing with here, and maybe that can be a call of action to get them motivated to fight [and] do everything we can to bring home these hostages.”
In the graphic video, which was recorded by Hamas and reviewed by reporters with the outlet, Goldberg-Polin, Cohen, and Levy appear to be “in the bed of a pickup truck,” and all three appear to be bloody.
The release of the video came after the Israeli Defense Forces authorized the footage to be released
Goldberg-Polin’s mother told the outlet that she “chose not to” view the video.
“My daughter told me, ‘Don’t watch it.’ She said you’ll see them yanking Hersh by the hair to, like, smile together, almost like for a selfie. She said, ‘It will only hurt you. It’s not going to help you,’” Goldberg-Polin’s mother said to the outlet.
In a post on X, the forum said that the “harrowing footage” was a “damning testament to the 262-day-long abandonment” of their loved ones.
“Hersh, Eliya, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive, today,” the forum wrote. “Every day that passes puts the hostages at greater risk and diminishes our chances of bringing them back safely. After nearly 9 months of fighting and despite recent achievements, it’s clear to everyone that returning all 120 hostages is only possible through a deal! We must approve and implement an agreement that will bring all hostages home — the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents last saw him on the night of October 6, before Hamas attacked Israel, murdering 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage.
Rachel Goldberg received two texts from her son on October 7, one saying that he loved his parents and the other saying, “I’m sorry.”
The family later discovered that their son had attended the Supernova music festival, where Hamas terrorists murdered 364 people.
Goldberg-Polin and his friend, Aner Shapira, found a roadside rocket shelter, and as they were hiding, Hamas terrorists threw grenades inside. This resulted in Goldberg-Polin being maimed, and losing his left arm from the elbow down.
In April, Hamas released a video showing Goldberg-Polin to prove that he was still alive.
