Fans of Bundesliga soccer club Werder Bremen proudly displayed a large banner reading "Hersh Forever" on Sunday evening, paying tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the Hamas massacre and brutally executed by his captors along with five other captives.
Hersh was a passionate supporter of both Hapoel Jerusalem and Werder Bremen, and thousands of red-clad fans accompanied him on his final journey. This season, the basketball team will wear his portrait on their jerseys.
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Soccer fans in tribute to slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
(Photo: Werder Bremen website)
A heartfelt tribute was also made in Germany, with Werder Bremen posting on X (formerly Twitter), "We will never forget you." Throughout the past year, Werder Bremen has made several additional tributes to Hersh, including raising a flag with his portrait outside their stadium.
In the recent match between Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Haifa, the Jerusalem team wore special shirts featuring Hersh’s portrait and his father's eulogy: "May your memory be a revolution." A moment of silence was observed before the game, and Hapoel Haifa fans also honored him with their own banner.
Hersh, 23, held dual Israeli-American citizenship. He was born in the United States and moved to Israel with his family in 2008. On October 7, he attended a nature party in Re'im and was later abducted after Hamas stormed the party and nearby Kibbutzim. About two months before his murder in captivity, a video released with his family’s approval showed Hamas terrorists leading him and three other hostages to their pickup truck.
He was killed alongside five other hostages in captivity: Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, and Almog Sarusi. They were executed by their captors, who fled fearing a potential IDF rescue operation near the tunnel. Thousands attended his funeral, including the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and fans of Hapoel Jerusalem.