One of six hostages confirmed killed by Hamas in Gaza over the weekend was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the 23-year-old son of Chicago natives Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg who was kidnapped from the Tribe of Nova music festival in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
On Saturday night, the Israel Foreign Ministry shared a confirmation from the family of the death of “their beloved son and brother.” Goldberg-Polin’s father had previously said the young man loved to travel and described him as a fun-loving, curious and funny person.
“The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” their statement concluded.
The news comes after almost a year — over 330 days — of grueling wait, and a few months since in April, Hamas issued a video showing Goldberg-Polin alive. His parents have met with President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, and on Aug. 21, they visited Chicago to speak at the Democratic National Convention.
While onstage, his mother bowed her head during a standing ovation from the crowd and said: “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”
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When Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund of Chicago, visited Israel and met with the parents just a few weeks ago, Goldberg told him and others: “I just know he’s alive.”
“And you know what? She was right, because we met with her at the end of July, beginning of August. And we now know he was … fighting so hard to stay alive for his parents and his family,” Nasatir told the Tribune on Sunday.
“Then (he was) just so ruthlessly taken in the last 48 hours; and the style that he was taken was just so horrific. Her maternal instincts — they were spot on. He was there. He was alive, and she wasn’t wrong. That will stay with me for a long time.”
The Israeli army identified the other dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33, who were also taken from the festival, and Carmel Gat, 40, who was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri. According to the military, their bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and all six were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived.
“Throughout this saga, it feels like you begin to get to know all of these hostages,” Nasatir said. “Their story becomes indelibly etched into your mind. And so a lot of us feel as though we may not have known them before, but we sure know them now. And so many, so young, with all their lives ahead of them, with great character and energy.”
Goldberg-Polin’s father grew up in Skokie and West Rogers Park, and his mother grew up in the Gold Coast. The couple lived in Chicago after college and later moved to Berkeley, California, where Hersh was born. The family then relocated to Jerusalem in 2008.
Nasatir said some of Goldberg-Polin’s relatives still live in Chicago, including two grandmothers, an aunt and extended family. His paternal grandmother spoke at a Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration in May where hundreds gathered in Daley Plaza to honor the formal establishment of the state of Israel. Nasatir said it was an “impassioned speech” about recovering hostages that was “beautifully done.”
While he hasn’t heard from the young man’s parents since the news broke, Nasatir said the tragedy has hit home with all the people whom the couple’s advocacy touched, in the area and beyond.
“They tried so hard to raise awareness and get Hersh and all of them home, and I was just inspired by the way they acted, with grace and power and strength,” Nasatir said. “All Chicago Jews, and for that matter, anyone that’s been following the story, just feels terrible. And if you’re connected to Chicago the way that Jon and Rachel are and were, it hits you on a whole different level.”
When Hamas released Chicago-area mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan after two weeks in captivity back in October, the young man’s parents shared with the Tribune a renewed sense of hope that Illinois politicians would keep prioritizing hostage release efforts.
“Do not stop reaching out to elected officials to make sure they are screaming at the top of their lungs,” Polin previously said. “Two Chicagoans were released last night. We need another one released.”
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During the Oct. 7 attack on the festival, Goldberg-Polin evacuated into a bomb shelter, which came under heavy gunfire, according to eyewitness accounts and video. Hamas operatives then threw over a dozen grenades into the shelter before moving him and three other survivors into a pickup truck. His cellphone signal was last detected around 10:20 a.m. Israel time that morning, in Gaza, according to Polin.
Goldberg-Polin’s left arm was blown off below the elbow during the kidnapping, and his father had said doctors noted that if he did not get medical treatment after two weeks, the outlook would become even more dire.
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“We’re really trying to get as much support as possible from our elected officials in Illinois,” Polin previously said. “That’s kind of the state that we’ve been leaning on the most.”
Nasatir told the Tribune that U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Highland Park Democrat, has a close relationship with the Goldberg-Polin family. On Sunday, Schneider recalled part of Polin’s speech at the DNC:
“In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring hope to the entire region, a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza,” Polin had said. “The time is now.”
Schneider concluded his statement Sunday with his own reflection: “Let us relentlessly pursue justice, and just as relentlessly pursue peace. In doing so, we can honor the memories of all we have lost.”
Yinam Cohen, the consul general of Israel to the Midwest based in Chicago, said in a statement that he was devastated by the news.
“These hostages were murdered by Hamas after months in captivity. Just last week, the whole nation was deeply moved as Rachel and Jon Polin took the stage at the DNC, calling for the release of their son, Hersh, and all the hostages,” he said. “I send my heartfelt condolences to the Polins and all the families of the murdered hostages. May their memory be a blessing. Time is running out. We must do everything to bring all the remaining hostages home — NOW!”
The support the Goldberg-Polin family has leaned on was reflected in the outpouring of condolences and messages from countless Illinois politicians who mourned the news, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who became the first U.S. senator to call for a cease-fire.
On Sunday morning, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth — who has been involved with efforts to stop the war — shared a statement grieving the deaths of the six hostages, including the Israeli-American.
“My heart is broken by this gut-wrenching news,” she wrote. “My deepest condolences are with Hersh’s family and friends, including those throughout the Chicagoland area, and his parents, Rachel and Jon, who have been staunch advocates for the hostages and their families — their bravery, strength and steadfast love for their son has been awe-inspiring.”
She said that Hamas’ capture and killing of the hostages was “unconscionable and unacceptable” and stressed the “imperative” for the negotiation of a permanent cease-fire that releases all captives, recommitting herself to pushing for such a deal.
U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García, Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez in October co-sponsored House Resolution 786, urging Biden to call for a cease-fire and facilitate deescalation, as well as promptly send humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Like other officials, Gov. JB Pritzker also similarly expressed that he was “heartbroken.”
“The courage of his parents, Jon and Rachel, has been a symbol of strength for the families of the hostages during the unthinkable,” he wrote in a statement shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My prayers are with them today as they mourn. May his memory be a blessing.”
Some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7, and Israel officials now believe 101 remain in captivity, including 35 who are thought to be dead. More than 100 were freed during a cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.
The Associated Press and the Tribune’s Ilana Arougheti and Kate Armanini contributed.
