Massive Crowd Fills Jerusalem for Emotional Farewell to American Hersh Goldberg-Polin

As the United States celebrated Labor Day, thousands of people came to Jerusalem on Monday to pay their respects at the funeral of American Israeli Hersh GoldbergPolin. Hersh was one of the Hamas hosts who were held hostage by the terrorist group for almost a year. His parents Jon and Rachel are vocal supporters of the hostages. He was abducted on October 7th, at the Nova Festival. Recently, they spoke at the DNC.

Hamas killed Hersh and six other men as IDF troops approached the location.

Isaac Herzog apologized to Hersh, Israel’s president, for not having been able to save him in a moving address given at Hersh’s funeral.

Jon spoke about his son’s intelligence and knowledge. He also talked about how he was interested in social injustice and advocated for others. Rachel discussed the pain that they had felt over the last eleven months and expressed their hope that he would return home.

Hamas has refused to make any agreement except for the total surrender of the IDF. This is a return to the events of Oct. 6. Some Israelis, including hostage families, still think that the government is blocking an agreement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a prominent voice for hostage families, has shifted its stance against Netanyahu. Many Israelis, however, are more realistic.

I can understand protesting, but I cannot support the Histadrut general strike tomorrow as a response to the murders of six hostages. There are no concrete demands from the unions.

They say to stop abandoning hostages. Do they mean shutting down the country until there is a settlement? Until Netanyahu concedes more?

Hamas holds people hostage and kills them. It is not good to strike until an agreement is reached, because they punish Netanyahu by creating pressure. The Histadrut is destroying the Israeli economy and will eventually pass it on to Israelis.

Hamas has, on the other hand, cruelly threatened to release a video of hostages just before they die. Biden has put Netanyahu on trial again, but at the same time, he’s talking about a “final offer” to Hamas.