Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered Oct. 7 hostage, represents victims of terrorism at UN

"My son was executed at close range and returned to me after 330 days," said Rachel in a recorded video. "That body that I had carried in my body for nine months, many moons ago."

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaks in a recorded message at the United Nations International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, August 21, 2026.
MENTEE & MENTOR: Israeli logotherapists Batya Yaniger (L) and Teria Shantall.

Silence before speaking: Logotherapy helps process trauma, evil after October 7

Logotherapy emphasizes the importance of a meaning-centered outlook on life to help Oct. 7 survivors and family members work through trauma.

|ByLIANE GRUNBERG WAKABAYASHI
RACHEL AND JON Goldberg-Polin attend the funeral of their son, Hersh, in Jerusalem.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir about her son's murder tops NYT bestseller list

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. Part of his arm was shot off during the abduction, and he was held captive in Gaza.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
RACHEL AND JON Goldberg-Polin attend the funeral of their son, Hersh, in Jerusalem.

'I feel like we failed' to bring Gaza hostages home, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tells CBS's 60 Minutes

"What we were fighting for did happen. We got all these people home, not the way we wanted. We wanted them home, alive, but they had come home," she told Anderson Cooper.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Israel’s internal clash, not consensus, saved the hostages - opinion

Military force and public pressure collided for 843 days, and together, they brought every hostage home.

FEBRUARY 4, 2026ByGIL TROY
Israeli Police and IDF solodiers in line to pay their respects as the funeral procession of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the last hostage from Gaza, makes its way to Gvili's Negev hometown of Meitar on Jan. 28, 2026.

Jewish world marks first day with no hostages in Gaza by shedding symbols of support

The return of Ran Gvili’s body on Monday ended a two-and-a-half-year advocacy campaign to return the roughly 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

JANUARY 27, 2026ByPHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
The yellow ribbon pin became a ubiquitous symbol for solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas.

Parents of slain Gaza hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Roni Eshel to release memoirs of experience

Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersh, will release an intimate memoir this spring, while Eshel, father of Roni, is publishing a book chronicling the 34 days before learning of his daughter’s death.

JANUARY 18, 2026BySHIR PERETS
RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN interviews in Jerusalem, May 29.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin reflects how Rabbi Sacks's teachings helped her manage Hersh's captivity

Marking the anniversary of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's death, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin shared they had found strength in the teachings of Rabbi Sacks after their son, Hersh, was murdered in Gaza.

NOVEMBER 30, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

Olim: Israel’s living covenant of hope - opinion

As we mark Aliyah Day, may we recognize our olim not only as those who have joined us but as those who continually teach us what it means to choose Israel – to choose life, covenant, and destiny.

OCTOBER 29, 2025ByKENNETH BRANDER
RELEASED HOSTAGE Edan Alexander is reunited with members of his family in May. Rather than retreat from the trauma he endured, he expressed his wish to rejoin his unit and continue serving in the IDF, says the writer.

Even as living hostages are home: What we owe those who died for them - opinion

At Hostage Square, Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke of the Book of Kohelet, read during Sukkot: 'There is a time to sob, and a time to dance.' She added, 'We have to do both right now.'

OCTOBER 22, 2025ByDAN ELBAUM
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza, attends a demonstration in Jerusalem earlier this month.