A moving tribute to the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin and his friend Aner Shapira appears in the fourth season of The Diplomat, Netflix's hit political drama, which premiered last week. In the season's sixth episode, one character recounts the story of an American soldier named Herschel Pollen who saved her father's life during World War II by throwing a live grenade away from him, losing a limb in the explosion. A series of details makes the connection to the events of October 7 almost impossible to miss.
The scene takes place during a conversation between Frances Munning (Penny Downie), the household manager at the U.S. ambassador's residence in London, and Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), the ambassador's right-hand man. Explaining her fondness for Americans, Munning recalls: "My father took part in the Allied advance through Belgium during the war. His unit was attached to the US 9th Armored. A gentleman by the name of Herschel Pollen from Richmond, Virginia, watched a live grenade roll right to my father’s feet. Mr. Pollen snatched it up, tossed it away. It exploded inches from his hand. He lost the limb. He saved my father’s life."
The name alone might have seemed like a subtle reference, but the additional details leave little doubt about the apparent inspiration for the story. Hersh Goldberg-Polin lived with his family in Richmond, Virginia, during his childhood. On the morning of October 7, after fleeing the Nova music festival with his friends, he took shelter in a roadside bomb shelter near Re'im, where he lost the lower part of his left arm in a grenade explosion before being abducted to the Gaza Strip.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin
But the fictional story does not echo Hersh's experience alone. The act of throwing the grenade also clearly recalls Aner Shapira, Hersh's friend, who was with him in the shelter. As Hamas terrorists threw grenades into the crowded shelter, where festivalgoers had taken refuge, Shapira caught and threw seven grenades back outside, one after another. The eighth grenade exploded, killing him. Hersh was abducted from the shelter to Gaza, where he was murdered in August 2024, after 11 months in captivity, alongside fellow hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alexander Lobanov and Almog Sarusi.
Aner Shapira
(Photo: Family album)
Speaking to ynet, Hersh's father, Jon Polin, said: "Although we have no connection to the writers or the team behind Netflix's The Diplomat, we appreciate the clear reference to our late son Hersh and his childhood in Richmond, Virginia, as well as to the late Aner Shapira, one of the true heroes of that terrible day, October 7."
"At a time when some are trying to rewrite history or whitewash the October 7 massacre, it is heartwarming to know that so many others refuse to stop talking about Hersh, Aner and the other victims, and continue to remember them, even through subtle references," Polin added.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
The Diplomat, starring Keri Russell, was created by screenwriter and producer Debora Cahn. A descendant of Holocaust survivors, Cahn has previously spoken about how her Jewish heritage influences her understanding of international politics and the stories she tells.
Netflix and the show's creators have not yet said who conceived the apparent tribute to Hersh and Aner or how it came to be included in the script.