Hamas Releases Propaganda/Proof of Life Video of American-Israeli Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Hamas has released a propaganda/proof of life video of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held captive for nearly 200 days. In the scripted video, Goldberg-Polin criticizes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
“Think of us detainees in underground hell, without water, food or sun, without the treatment I (have needed) for so long,” he says.
At the end of the video, he directly addresses his family and tells them he loves them.
The video was released on Wednesday, exactly 200 days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, in which Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage. He is one of 133 hostages still held by Hamas, though dozens of them are believed to be dead.
Hamas has released hostage videos in the past, including one of Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas for five years before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2011.
Goldberg-Polin was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and also lived in Richmond, Va., before moving to Israel with his family when he was in elementary school. He was attending the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem when he was taken hostage.
During the assault, Goldberg-Polin and others gathered in a bunker. Hamas fighters threw grenades into the bunker, and part of Goldberg-Polin’s left arm was blown off in the explosion.
While Goldberg-Polin has been held captive by Hamas, his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, has become a leading voice calling for the hostages’ release. In November, she testified before the United Nations Security Council, and last week she met with Pope Francis.
“It’s as if it’s Oct. 8” in Israel, she said. “It cannot move forward. The country is in such reeling.”
“I cannot digest that Passover is next week,” she continued. “It’s actually perverse to even start to think about the holiday of freedom from captivity. I just said today, and I was not kidding, ‘Is there a way, could I find any doctor that could put me in an induced coma for the week?’ Like, I don’t want to be conscious. It will be so acutely painful.”
