Hapoel Jerusalem fan kidnapped by Hamas: 'He used to go to every game' / News - Basketnews.com

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas during the infamous Re'im music festival and is yet to come back. The 23-year-old used to go to every Hapoel Jerusalem game and was an avid fan. The club reached out and offered support to the family.

Credit: Rachel Goldberg via AP - Scanpix Credit Rachel Goldberg via AP - Scanpix

23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th during the infamous Re'im music festival massacre. He was an avid Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem supporter.

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Goldberg-Polin was with his friends in the festival, looking to celebrate life before a one-way trip out of Israel to the East the next month. The Hamas attack happened suddenly.

"Around 7 in the morning, they knew something terrible was happening, so they got into the car and tried to flee north," his father, John, told Sport5.

"There was shooting and grenades on the road, so they got out of the car and entered the migunit (a temporary fortification for civil citizens) at the Re'im intersection," he told the story. "It was a nightmare in the migunit. Terrorists threw grenades, there was heavy shooting. There were around 29 people in the migunit, of which, from what I understand, 18 were murdered, 7 were eventually rescued, and 3-4 were kidnapped, including Hersh."

The family revealed that Goldberg-Polin managed to contact them during that fateful morning.

"We received 2 messages in a row at 08:11 in the morning. The first one said 'I love you', and the second one said 'I'm sorry.' So we knew right away that something bad was developing," his mother, Rachel, said.

The 23-year-old was an avid Hapoel Jerusalem supporter. He used to go to every match no matter the league or its importance, his family said.

"Every game he told us, 'This is the most important game ever, I can't miss.' He used to go to all the games - Nahariya, Eilat, it doesn't matter. We told him he couldn't miss school. So he came home at 4 in the morning and got up at 6:30 for school," they shared.

With his son gone for close to a month, Goldberg-Polin's father says that every gesture helps and counts at this moment.

"Roi Cohen (Hapoel's VP of Communications) and Matan Adelson (Hapoel's owner) came to us, hugged us, and offered as much support as they could. We adore the visit. It's amazing what is being done in the world of sports. There are signs of all the abductees in Germany, of Hersh, photos [of them] - it strengthens us," he said.

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