The video clip of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, which dominated social media channels on Wednesday night, achieved the nearly impossible task of simultaneously evoking joy and heartbreak.
A blinding joy because it seems to verify that the 24-year-old Jerusalem resident, who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7 after having part of his arm blown off by a grenade thrown at him at the Nova festival, is alive.
His statements, which he was likely forced to read on camera at gunpoint, mention 200 days of captivity and Passover, implying that the video was made in the recent past.
Hamas released the video of its hostage, the first in many months, as part of its propaganda campaign to wear down Israeli society, which is where the heartbreak comes in.
Video released is both startling and crushing
The contrast between the bon vivant Hersh that the country has come to know in the last 200 days through photos and videos of him before October 7 and the thin, scared, and dour Hersh in Wednesday’s video was startling and crushing.
Since the Gaza war began, Israeli media has generally bowed to the requests of the families of the 134 hostages still being held by Hamas not to publish the photos and videos that Hamas has released of their loved ones in captivity.
Goldberg-Polin is the son of Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, two American immigrants to Israel who have been thrust into the roles of public figures since October 7, both here and in the US. In a twist, they encouraged the video of Hersh to be disseminated and shared.
In a statement, Goldberg and Polin said: “Seeing the video of Hersh today is overwhelming. We are relieved to see him alive, but we are also concerned about his health and well-being, as well as that of all the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region.
“We are here today with a plea to all of the parties’ leaders who have been negotiating to date. This includes Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas, and Israel: be brave, lean in, seize this moment, and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region. Hersh, we heard your voice today for the first time in 201 days, and if you can hear us, we are telling you: We love you, stay strong, survive.”
IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Thursday that the “psychological terror video is not only a reminder of what Hamas did on October 7th, but it is also a reminder of how sick this terror group is, terrorizing the hostages and their families too.”
After the video’s release, hundreds of protesters converged on the Prime Minister’s Jerusalem residence Wednesday night, stormily demanding the government do whatever is needed to bring Hersh and the other hostages home.
Whether or not the release of the video, at a time when unconfirmed reports are flourishing about the dwindling number of hostages who are alive, will spark an intensified effort to secure their release can’t be guaranteed.
Hamas has cynically and cruelly rebuffed all deals that the above countries have formulated and are exploiting 134 lives as the ultimate bargaining chips to ensure their own survival.
With a significant IDF operation in Rafah on tap, the question remains if Hamas will soften its stance or continue to allow Gaza to be destroyed and the people of Gaza to suffer. The operation could put the remaining hostages in danger as well. On the other hand, without the offensive, the chances of securing their release could be next to nothing.
There are no easy answers here, but the harrowing images of Hersh in captivity surely intensify the resolve of all involved to do everything possible to defeat Hamas and free him and the rest of the hostages who have been in a living hell for over 200 days.
In a piece written for the Post on Passover Eve last week, Rachel Goldberg-Polin wrote: “Hope is mandatory. That is what it is to be part of the Jewish nation. We are a people who will never give up.
We will keep going until we are all free, in body and soul. May the Passover aspiration of next year – ‘may we be free people’ – be truer than ever for all of our loved ones. Every single one. Amen!”