The mother of a man who was taken hostage after the Hamas cross-border raid into Israel on October 7th has described her fight to secure his return as the war reaches the 100-day mark.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was last seen on October 7th when militants loaded him into the back of a pick-up truck with other people who were abducted from a southern Israel music festival where more than 300 attendees were killed.
The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of an arm when the attackers tossed grenades into the shelter where a group of young people had taken refuge.
His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin has taken to writing down the number of days her son has been held hostage on masking tape and sticking it to her chest.
Ms Goldberg-Polin, 54, said: “I find it so remarkable how nauseating it is every single time.
“And it’s good. I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want anybody to get used to the fact that these people are missing.”
While dozens of women, children and foreigners were released during a week-long November ceasefire, and a number of hostages have been confirmed dead, 132 others remain in captivity.
The Red Cross has not been permitted to see them and almost nothing is known about their conditions.
Ms Goldberg-Polin now spends her days trying to bring her son and the other hostages home.
The mother of three has spent the past three months in relentless motion, criss-crossing the globe, reminding anyone who will listen that her child is more than just an inconvenient statistic: he is her only son, a music lover, a young man who deserves the chance to fulfil his dream of traveling the world.
Ms Goldberg-Polin and her family – who moved to Israel from the US when Hersh was seven – have met with US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis, Elon Musk and dozens of journalists.
She has spoken at the United Nations, gone to protests and carried placards.
The plight of the hostages has gripped Israel’s attention and the tireless campaign by families has gained widespread support and sympathy, ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli government to make concessions to win their release.
The masking-tape ritual began on day 26 when Ms Goldberg-Polin stuck the makeshift badge to her chest to show everyone the ever-increasing tally was the focus of her life, not just a factoid for news stories.
“It defines me anyway,” she told the Associated Press on Wednesday, when her badge read 96. She likened it to a name tag, in the fashion of “Hello my name is”.
“This is who I am,” she said. “My identity is the number of days he’s been stolen.″
Ahead of the 100-day milestone on January 14, Ms Goldberg-Polin asked people around the world to adopt her routine, hoping the show of solidarity would help her and the other families bear the pain and anguish of waiting yet another day for their loved ones to return.
The 100-day mark has also offered a moment to direct the world’s attention back on the hostages and Ms Goldberg-Polin hopes that someone, somewhere, is caring for her injured son.
She has a message for Hersh, just in case it might reach him.
She said: “I would say: There has not been one second since you were taken that we are not working, turning over every single stone on the planet Earth and running to the ends of the Earth to get you back. So we need you to stay strong. And survive and stay alive. And we are coming.”
