The Hersh Video. Don't Just Look. Act.

April 24, 2024 Jackie Moffett

He looked like a ghost. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the 24-year-old American-Israeli whose left arm was blown off by a Hamas grenade just before he was taken hostage on October 7, appeared today in a Hamas propaganda video, the first proof of life since he was taken from the Nova Music Festival 201 days ago.

My friend who was with me in Israel when we met Hersh’s mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, texted me this morning one word: “OMG!” And there was Hersh. Not the tan, smiley Hersh we have seen in family photos, not the Hersh whose image sat at a place of honor Monday night at my family’s Seder table. A different Hersh. This Hersh looked sickly and pale. His left arm ends at the wrist in an uneven stump. He looked gaunt. He looked scared. But mostly, thank G-d, he looked alive. ALIVE!!

This video heightens the urgency of bringing the hostages home immediately, meaning now is the time to advocate for their return like never before. It is up to the key players at the negotiation table -- Israel, Egypt, Qatar, the U.S., and Hamas -- to make the dream of 133 returned hostages a reality. Rachel has been consistent in reminding the world that the group of 133 are a diverse group that includes eight Muslim Arabs, two Black African Christians, eight Thais; they are from Mexico and Nepal and are Catholic and Hindu. There are five Americans, including Hersh. Act on behalf of all these people. But please, act now.

It is a miracle that Hersh has survived but we cannot forget that he is still dangerously at risk and severely emotionally traumatized. As are the young women who are believed to be pregnant, raped by their captors. As are the elderly, whose more fragile health must be terribly compromised by lack of food, water, sunlight… and G-d knows what other brutalities.

So let’s turn up the heat. Use the letter attached below or write your own letter and send to the key negotiators from the US, Israel, Qatar and Egypt below. Please, act NOW!

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you today as a parent, humanitarian and deeply concerned fellow human being. Today I saw Hersh Goldberg-Polin in a Hamas proof-of-life video. While it was edifying to see this young man alive, it was a stark and urgent reminder of the danger the 133 hostages remain in after over 200 days of captivity. The 133 are a diverse group comprised of many Israelis, but there are also eight Muslim Arabs, two Black African Christians, Thais, Mexicans and Nepalese, Catholics and Hindus. There are five Americans. What unites them all is their proximity to death after 200+ days in the dire conditions detailed in Hersh’s video message.

Please. I implore you to use your crucial voice at the hostage negotiations table and bring these innocent people home to their countries and end the suffering of all those in the region affected by this war. The world looks to you. Be brave. Bring them home now.

Thank you,

President Joe Biden

Call and leave a message. 202-456-1111

Email https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Senator Chuck Schumer

https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/message-chuck

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

https://www.state.gov/department-email-updates/

@SecBlinken

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

@JakeSullivan46

202-456-1414