Stay strong, survive!

Spring Day in South Africa typically heralds a season of renewal, with the opening of public pools and the blooming of flowers. Yet, 1 September was darkened by the heartbreaking discovery of six recently executed hostages in Gaza.

The six, Eden Yerushalmi (24); Carmel Gat (40); Almog Sarusi (27); Alex Lobanov (32); Ori Danino (25); and Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23), had endured 331 days of unimaginable suffering in captivity. Our community, like all of the world’s Jewry, has been in a state of shock and heartbreak over this tragic news.

We weep together as a community, finding solace in the shared nature of our sorrow. As a community leader, a mother, and a fellow human being, I grieve with you. In the face of such loss, we find strength in our unity and resilience. Though we may not have known them personally, they were our family, and we should all be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Israel.

In particular, American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin had become one of the most well-known faces, and his mother had gone to every effort to secure his safe release. Only a few weeks ago, Hersh’s parents, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, delivered an emotional plea at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Their appearance at the event was greeted with thunderous applause and led to the chant of “Bring them home!” The speech, on the most important night of the conference, brought the issue into the spotlight in an extremely public manner. Rachel ended her speech with a heart wrenching plea, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”

The families of these hostages, especially the Goldberg-Polins, have exemplified the essence of Jewish peoplehood and the fierce love of a parent. Their unwavering commitment to securing the release of their loved ones has been a beacon of hope and inspiration for all of us. Only last week, the family were among a group of relatives who used a loudspeaker to project their voices into Gaza and tell their loved ones that they are loved and that they should stay strong and survive.

Even in the face of unimaginable loss, Rachel has continued to champion the motto that guided their campaign, “Hope is mandatory.” In spite of the pain of losing her son, she has shared words of hope with fellow parents, praying that this tragedy might lead to an end to the madness and the swift release of the remaining hostages.

At the funeral, President Isaac Herzog expressed deep regret and sorrow for failure to secure the safe release of the hostages, calling for global leaders to come together to end the conflict. Hersh’s father poignantly expressed his hope that his son’s memory would inspire change, saying, “May his memory be a revolution”, and that his death might not be in vain but rather a catalyst for peace.

We held on to so much hope that we would one day see these six hostages among those who, G-d willing, will be freed, and though hope has now been lost for Eden, Carmel, Almog, Alex, Ori, and Hersh, it’s not yet lost for the others. To them we say, “If you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive!”