The parents of American-Israeli Hersh Golberg-Polin are looking for their son, who went missing at the nature party in the northern Negev on Saturday, October 7 when Hamas militants attacked. The California-born 23-year-old was enjoying the festivities in the desert, having only just celebrated his birthday this week. He left his family on Friday night at 11 PM to enjoy the festivities and hasn’t been heard from since Saturday morning. On Saturday at 08:11, his parents received only two short messages from their beloved son: “I love you” and “I’m sorry.”
Who is Hersh Goldberg-Polin?
Hersh is an oleh from Berkeley, California. He made aliyah alongside his family at 7 years old in 2008. He has two sisters aged 20 and 17 and two loving parents; who are all deeply missing their son.
Hersh is much like many other young adults in Israel. His father, Jonathon Polin, told The Jerusalem Post that Hersh enjoys travelling, music festivals and is an avid supporter of the Hapoel Jerusalem soccer team. Hersh’s dream is to visit India, and he has been working as a medic and waiter to make that dream a reality in a planned trip for December.No doubt, Hersh was enjoying his well-earned youth at the party having been released from his Army service at only the end of April. He served in 7th Armored Brigade.Hersh first spent his service driving tanks and later trained to become a medic. When asked why Polin thought his son wanted to be a medic, he answered simply that it was “[m]ore interested than driving a tank.” Polin said that his family had been experiencing “[c]oncern” and “[w]orry” since learning about the events of the rave. “We just want him home and safe,” Polin told the Post.Polin said that if he could deliver a message to his son now, he would say “We love you. Come home to us.”Missing loved ones in Israel
Distressing footage has circulated online showing militants kidnapping Israeli civilians and transporting them to Gaza. The exact number of Israelis being held hostage is unknown. However Israeli officials have confirmed that at least 300 have been killed in the conflict and a further 1700 injured.On Saturday night, Israel Police and the IDF Home Front Command asked relatives of missing people to bring DNA samples and photos of their loved ones. If the relatives find themselves under assault, they have been advised to call the police hotline number: 105.Civilians have been desperately looking for a way to find their loves ones, with many using social media to spread information quickly. The Post reported that an Instagram account, named @WeAreOneIsrael, was set up to help in families’ quests for knowledge on their missing. The Post article also noted that the Kirya airport has been transformed into an assistance hub to help the Home Front command locate the missing.JOANIE MARGULIES and SAM HALPERN contributed to this report.