Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Rosh Hashanah 2026: October 7 awakened Jewish connection - now we must make it last - opinion

Rosh Hashanah offers a moment to turn the Jewish awakening of recent years into lasting community, connection, and belonging.

Visitors at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, October 05, 2025.
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.

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

MENTEE & MENTOR: Israeli logotherapists Batya Yaniger (L) and Teria Shantall.

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

 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


'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.

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

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.

 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.

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.

 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.

 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.

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.'

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