U.S. Hostage’s Mother Pleads for Swift Release from Hamas, End to Cycle of Revenge

By Keita Ikeda and Talia Rose / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

20:00 JST, August 29, 2024

WASHINGTON — Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh has been taken hostage in Gaza by the Islamist group Hamas, vented her anger and frustration at the slow progress in hostage release negotiations in a remote interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday.

Goldberg, 54, said the situation could not be more urgent. She expressed concern over the many civilians killed in Gaza and called for a quick ceasefire.

“We’ve seen that this cycle of violence and hatred and revenge … has not served us well,” she said.

On Oct. 7 last year, her son went to a music festival in Israel that was attacked by Hamas. According to a witness, Hersh was among those who fled to a small shelter into which Hamas militants threw several grenades, killing 25 of those inside. The four survivors, including Hersh, were taken away.

A video Hamas released in April showed Hersh with his left arm gone from the elbow down due to one of the grenades.

“We see his arm is gone. We see he is bruising on his forehead. He’s very pale, he’s very thin, but he’s alive, and he’s talking … and we feel very blessed to have received that,” she said.

But she has had no news about him since then. Nor has she been notified that her son could be dead. “Every day you are not notified … it’s considered a good day,” she said.

She has frequently given interviews with the press and has called for Israel and Hamas to quickly reach a deal on a hostage release. She is driven by anger toward the authorities who have been incapable of achieving this.

“We are very much pawns in a game … Until these two men who are in power on each side decide that they are going to stop this game, we will be in this game and people will continue to die,” she said, raising her voice. The two men she was referring to were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Both have been criticized for dragging out negotiations to keep their hold on power.

Goldberg, who lives in Israel, took part in the U.S. Democratic Party’s convention on Aug. 21, where she gave a speech pleading for the quick release of hostages. Even before she began her speech, the crowd started chanting, “Bring them home, bring them home,” which made her cry.

“I just got overwhelmed, and I started to cry,” she said. “It shows you the power of kindness. It can be so disarming if you are kind.”

In the United States, there is bipartisan support for a hostage release. The family of another hostage gave a speech at the Republican convention in July. But Goldberg also touched on the problem of polarization in the United States between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides.

“I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about this situation,” she said. “You don’t have to just choose one side.”

With civilians in Gaza being killed in the war, she warned that the cycle of revenge will be repeated unless both the hostages and the people of Gaza are rescued.

“There is such a surplus of agony in this area of the world,” she said. “In a competition of pain, there are no winners.”

The fastest way to relieve tension “is to get a deal done that sees the release of [hostages] and sees a release from all of the suffering in Gaza.”

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