Jerusalem – On October 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was present at a party.
The Israeli-American was among 3,000 revelers, many dancing to techno beats in the early morning, about 3.3 miles from Gaza, when Hamas fighters destroyed the fence that separated the enclave from the south from Israel and came down on the electronic network. music festival through the dusty fields surrounding Kibbutz Re’im.
Hersh, who was with his friend Aner Shapira, ran to hide in an air raid shelter as the fighters fired a hail of bullets onto the festival grounds.
Hamas fighters began throwing grenades at the shelter. Witnesses later said Aner picked up several grenades, repeatedly throwing them out of the shelter until one finally exploded and killed him.
When Hamas fighters entered the shelter and ordered those still alive to come out, Hersh was filmed with the lower half of his left arm cut off and its bone exposed; he seemed remarkably calm, his face showing no signs of the pain he would have felt at that moment.
Trained in medical first aid, he appears to have made a makeshift tourniquet out of clothing to stem the bleeding.
He was last filmed around midday on October 7, being loaded into a van by Hamas fighters. Israeli police last recorded a signal from his phone at 12:45 p.m. (10:45 GMT) on October 7, near the border with Gaza.
The video, posted on CNN’s website, was widely shared online and his parents confirmed it was Hersh. The Israeli government has since officially recognized him as a hostage, one of around 240 held by Hamas. Hersh’s family and friends are making sure he is not forgotten.
Hersh’s family has since appeared in various media outlets, calling for his release. His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, spoke at the United Nations, where she spoke of the family’s pain and implored world leaders to act to secure the release of those captured.
But away from the media spotlight, Hersh’s friends began broadcasting their own tributes in his hometown of Jerusalem.
Hersh’s passion is soccer, particularly Hapoel Jerusalem, a politically left-leaning soccer club rooted in socialist principles.
He is an integral part of the club’s supporters group, a group of dedicated supporters who put aside years of mediocre footballing performances, rallying instead to the club’s values that contrasted with the city’s right-wing political movement.
A longtime fan of the club and surrounding community, who preferred to be called Dennis due to the politically sensitive situation in Israel, described Hersh as an “impressive young person, a really bright kid” and a staunch anti-racist. Or, as Dennis put it, a “lefty.”
These values are reflected in his favorite football club. Hapoel Jerusalem is a bitter rival to Beitar Jerusalem, a soccer club that has never signed an Arab player and has a contingent of far-right fans who chant “Death to the Arabs.”
What Beitar Jerusalem represents is everything Hersh stands against. Dennis shows a photo of Hersh’s childhood bedroom to illustrate this point. The image on the wall shows the distinct outlines of his hometown alongside the text “Jerusalem for All” in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
It was a message that became synonymous with Hersh’s captivity, with his friends turning the same image into a banner that they displayed across the city.
Dennis called Hersh “an integral part of the football club” where only the die-hard fans stuck with the team.
“Can you imagine that in a 30,000-seat stadium, only 3,000 to 4,000 people would be there for every game,” says Dennis, adding that Hersh would be there, jumping up and down in the stands and singing throughout .
“Bring Hersh Home”
When it wasn’t a game day, Hersh could be seen enjoying a drink at the fans’ favorite bar, a hip, left-wing poster-covered spot in central Jerusalem.
He had even applied to work there to save for his dream of traveling across India.
Today, his friends have graffitied murals all over town, with an image of Hersh stenciled next to the words “Bring Hersh Home.”
Dennis says he tries to take comfort in knowing that Hersh appeared calm in the last video footage taken of him and still had enough strength to pull himself onto the truck.
If he’s released, Dennis said, he’ll know his friends will all be waiting to hug him in the stands at his boyhood club.