Hersh Goldberg-Polin in a video from Hamas captivity
On Thursday, Jon, the father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen held by Hamas in Gaza addressed Hamas' propaganda video detailing his condition in Gaza captivity. "Watching the chilling video stirred deep emotions," he said of watching the video with his wife, Rachel.
"Seeing a video of Hersh is overwhelming. We're relieved to see him alive, but we are also concerned about his health and well-being, as well as that of all of the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region," the couple said in a video statement.
In an interview on Thursday with Ynet, Rachel said, "My first reaction was to cry, we were very excited."
"We finally got a sign of life from our son, thank God. But on the other hand, he doesn't look like himself. He looks unhealthy, and seeing him without his hand for the first time was very traumatic for me as a mother," she said.
"I haven't heard Hersch's voice in six months, I haven't seen him move. It was a lot emotionally, and Jon and I cried together. I watched it a few times without sound, just to see him. I've never seen him so pale, his face is sunken and I don't know if he's getting food and medicine. He has bruises on his forehead, he just doesn't look himself. The worst thing was to see his hand," she added.
The parents called the video a "gift" that gives them additional motivation to work for the return of their son and all of the hostages.
Jon says that he has "watched the video about 20 times, something like that. I watch it to gain strength and to understand the true message. Why yesterday, why him— I have no answers, just many questions, and I keep watching. Even in the video of the abduction, where he appeared with a severed hand, no parent wants to see that. But even that strengthened us, seeing him standing firm. He was strong and will continue to be strong."
"It seems like he's reading something. The part that caught my attention was when he spoke directly to us, to the family, saying he misses us. Hearing that and seeing him say it strengthened us," Jon said. "For over 200 days, we've been tirelessly working toward one goal: bringing back Hersh and the other hostages. We feel that this is the moment, this is our mission. We must continue relentlessly until we succeed."
When asked about their son's demeanor in the video – emotional yet determined – John responded, "We noticed that too. We didn't know if he was alive; we hoped he was, but we didn't know. We imagined he might have lost a lot of weight, but we find some reassurance in how strong, sharp and clear he sounds. I'm less concerned about what he said and more about how he said it."
He also explained why the family chose to release part of the video: "We can't go back; it needs to evoke some kind of inspiration, for leaders and everyone involved. To remind us all that we're not talking about the number 133, but about real people. There's Hersh and there are 132 more like him whose families are waiting for them. We need to bring them all home as soon as possible."
Rachel explained that it was important to release the video. "From the moment it came out, within a few minutes we received thousands of messages about the video. Friends from Australia, Europe, America. They wrote to us from all over the world, and my assumption was that it was already out there. When they asked if this and that channel could broadcast it I said sure, I didn't think it was a story, and the truth is I had no idea it was controversial."
Hersch is one of eight hostages with American citizenship and the U.S. government has maintained continuous and firm contact with his parents.
Jon conveyed a message to his son: "My wife says every day, 'I want you to stay strong.' I add to that, and he said he knows how hard we're working, and I want to make sure he understands it deeply. All the captives need to understand that they have families, and a whole nation, millions, who will never stop working for their return. Stay strong."