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HomeRead, Watch, ListenIsrael
Israel Hamas WarVideoIsrael

‘Jon and I know what it is like to get your child returned in a bag’

What is happenening to all of us, our nation, right now is so deeply complex that my knees are buckling.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin
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Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaking in August 2024, soon after learning of the death of their son Hersh, who was killed as a Gaza hostage (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaking in August 2024, soon after learning of the death of their son Hersh, who was killed as a Gaza hostage (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Published: 13 October 2025

Last updated: 15 October 2025

No one knows better than Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin the extreme pain of the parents whose children return today from Gaza as corpses.

Their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, aged 23. He was murdered in August 2024 and his body was recovered and returned to Israel with those of five other hostages in September 2024.

On Saturday night at the last hostage rally, Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke about the parents who are asking her now 'How do we do this?'

Filmed by Ittay Flescher

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About the author

Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Rachel Goldberg-Polin an American-Israeli activist. Her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and murdered in August 2024.

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