SKOKIE, Illinois — Dozens of people gathered at Congregation Or Torah on Monday morning to watch the livestream of the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, the American-Israeli who was murdered by Hamas along with six other hostages last week.
Hersh was born in California, but had Chicago-area roots; his grandmother still lives in Skokie. His parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, last month, pleading for his release.
Hersh had spent the last eleven months in captivity, without his dominant left hand, which was blown off during the Hamas terror attack on the Nova music festival on October 7.
Israeli soldiers were closing in on the location where he and the other hostages were being held, in a Hamas tunnel underneath the city of Rafah in Gaza, when the terrorists executed him and the others.
The horror of the atrocity touched people around the world, and especially in the American Jewish community, where Hersh had been one of the iconic hostages. “Free Hersh” graffiti had appeared across Jerusalem, especially in areas where many American immigrants live.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke at the funeral.
In the face of “pure, barbaric evil,” Herzog said, Hersh had taught the world about humanity.
“I am sorry we failed to bring him home.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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