By Tara John, CNN
(CNN) — “I love you. Stay strong. Survive.” That has been the mantra of Rachel Goldberg-Polin since her son was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 with a severe arm injury.
“I’ve probably said [it] a million times… over these 202 days,” Rachel told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday of her personal prayer for her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. “And, so, to hear him use that sort of language… it was very meaningful for us, and powerful for us to hear.”
She was referring to a video Hamas released on Wednesday of her Israeli-American son – the first sign since October 7 that he was still alive. Speaking in Hebrew, with part of his left arm missing, Goldberg-Polin called on his parents to stay strong for him.
The undated video has given them hope but there are “mixed emotions,” his father Jonathan Polin said, because as a parent, Jonathan knows his son, who is left-handed, is not fine.
Footage of his capture showed Hamas fighters leading the then-23-year-old away from the bomb shelter with part of his arm missing. The first time Goldberg-Polin’s parents saw that video was following an interview with Cooper in October. The pair were recalling eyewitness accounts of how their son was taken into captivity during a live TV interview, when Cooper realized he had heard details of the story before.
Not wanting to spring the news on them on live TV, Cooper contacted them after the interview and asked if they wanted to see the video. They later confirmed the man in the video was their son and asked that the video be shared more widely.
The family was told by an eyewitness that Goldberg-Polin lost his arm from the elbow down while helping to throw grenades out of a bunker where he and others were sheltering.
The Hamas video on Wednesday showed part of his left arm missing several inches above the hand and it appears to be healing. Rachel said surgeons have reached out to her to say that the wound needs treatment and rehabilitation.
Their son is among the most recognizable of the 129 hostages who remain in Gaza. Banners and murals are displayed in Jerusalem, saying: “Bring Hersh Home,” and his parents regularly meet top US officials in Washington to press the case of the hostages.
‘Kissing someone through a veil’
In the video, Goldberg-Polin said he hoped he was able to give them his parents comfort on the holiday, in reference to the Jewish holiday of Passover that began on Monday night.
Goldberg-Polin also spoke in Hebrew in the clip, which Rachel called “interesting” as they never speak it with their children. “It was kind of like kissing someone through a veil, because that’s not the language that we use at home. But it’s his voice,” Rachel said.
The Goldberg-Polin family have called on the negotiating parties, including Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas, and Israel, to intensify efforts to strike a deal that would reunite families and end their suffering.
Speaking to Cooper, Jonathan added: “This video plays one small piece in reminding the negotiators that you are dealing with real human beings with aspirations and families who love them and are working every day to bring them home. Maybe that’s a little bit of good that comes out of this for the process.”
The-CNN-Wire
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