The parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg Pollin have spoken out about a newly released video showing their son and other hostages being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and said they hope it serves as a “call to action.”
Jonathan Pollin and his wife Rachel Goldberg talked On Monday, ahead of a forum on the hostages and missing families, NBC News released video showing the kidnapping of Goldberg Pollin, Elijah Cohen and Orr Levi. Hersh is one of five Americans still being held hostage by Hamas.
“He is our son,” Goldberg-Polin’s father told the outlet, “and we want everyone who sees this video to personally think about what we’re doing here, and maybe it will be a call to action that motivates them to fight.” [and] We will do everything in our power to bring the hostages back to their home countries.”
WARNING, GRAPHIC VIDEO:
The families of Hersh Goldberg Pollin (23), O Levi (33) and Elijah Cohen (26) have authorized the release of new footage showing the abduction of their loved ones. The three were abducted from an open-air shelter after fleeing the NOVA festival in Reims. They remain in Hamas custody.… pic.twitter.com/ZyWs07YNTi
— Bring them home now (@bringhomenow) June 24, 2024
In the shocking video recorded by Hamas and reviewed by its journalists, Goldberg-Polin, Cohen and Levy appear to be “in the bed of a pickup truck” and are all covered in blood.
The video was released after the Israel Defense Forces gave permission for the footage to be made public.
Goldberg-Polin’s mother told the outlet that she “chose not to watch” the video.
“My daughter said, ‘Don’t look,’ and she could see them pulling Hirsch’s hair and laughing together as if they were taking a selfie. She said, ‘This is just going to hurt you, it’s not going to help you,'” Goldberg-Polin’s mother told media.
X Forum Post Said “The horrific footage is ‘conclusive evidence’ that loved ones were left abandoned for 262 days.”
“Hersh, Elijah and Orr were captured alive. Today they must be returned alive,” the forum wrote. “With each passing day, the hostages are in greater danger and the chances of their safe return diminish. After nearly nine months of fighting and despite recent gains, it is clear to everyone that the return of all 120 hostages is only possible by agreement! We must approve and implement an agreement to return all hostages home – those who are alive for rehabilitation and those who were killed for a proper burial.”
Goldberg Pollin’s parents last saw him on the night of Oct. 6, before Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
Rachel Goldberg received two text messages from her son on October 7, one saying he loved his parents and the other saying he was sorry.
The family later learned that their son had attended the Supernova music festival, where Hamas terrorists killed 364 people.
Goldberg-Polin and his friend Anel Shapira found a roadside rocket shelter and hid there when a Hamas terrorist threw a grenade inside, resulting in Goldberg-Polin being severely injured and losing his left arm below the elbow.
In April, Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin to prove that she was still alive.
