Not until they're home

MY ONLY SON, HERSH, WAS KIDnapped from a music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, after having his dominant forearm and hand blown off.

- RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN

He was held captive, tortured, starved, and then, after 328 days, shot in the hand (his only one), shoulder, neck, and twice in the head in a dark and airless tunnel in Gaza on Aug. 29, 2024.

Hersh's name had been on the list, in July, of those who would be released in a deal between Hamas and Israel. But that deal did not happen, because decisionmakers did not want it to happen. And Hersh, along with five other beautiful young people, with whom he was being held hostage, are now all dead.

My husband Jon and I, having suffered more than 300 days of every parent's nightmare of utter and indescribable torment, continued advocating and pushing for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. We did not want anyone else to go through what we are and will continue grappling with for the rest of our lives. At the time a cease-fire deal was announced, there were 98 hostages still in Gaza.