JSR Portraits

 

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Hersh was a people person. He brought added value to every situation he  was in, and when he walked into a room, the energy changed. Hersh was born in Berkeley, California, to Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. When Hersh was 7 years old, his family, including two younger sisters, made Aliyah to Israel.

 

On October 7th, 2023, Hersh was wounded during the Hamas massacre of innocent participants of the Nova music festival. Around 8:00 AM, he sent his family a text message, "I love you". Ten minutes later he added, "I'm sorry."

During the attack, Hersh, his best friend Aner Shapira, and others took refuge in a field shelter. ​

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Hamas terrorists repeatedly threw grenades into the shelter. Aner Shapira managed to throw seven of the grenades back out, before being killed. Amidst the assault on the shelter, Hersh's left arm was blown off from the elbow down. He managed to fashion himself a tourniquet for his injury. A witness from the shelter confirmed they had seen terrorists forcing Hersh and others onto a truck. This was later confirmed in a video posted by Hamas. 

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Nearly 11 months later, IDF soldiers discovered that he had been shot while he was being held hostage in Gaza. This senseless execution had occurred about 24 hours prior to his discovery.

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Hersh will always be remembered as a bright young man with an adventurous spirit, a devoted friend, and the sweet, beloved son of John and Rachel.