BONUS - Rachel Goldberg-Polin: Mother of murdered hostage Hersh 'parcels out her pain' in book
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
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Summary
Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with author Rachel Goldberg-Polin.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin began writing her new book, "When We See You Again," as a way of finding some relief from her pain after she buried her son, 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was executed by his Hamas captors in August 2024, after being held captive for 330 days in a Gaza tunnel.
Goldberg-Polin speaks about the process of writing the book, urged by her husband, Jon Polin, and how the book became a kind of answer to people asking her how she was.
The bulk of the book takes place after the Goldberg-Polins buried Hersh on August 31, 2024, and is an accounting of their lives in what Goldberg-Polin terms the Before and After.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Author Rachel Goldberg-Polin joins host Jessica Steinberg for an episode of What Matters Now
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's What Matters now, a weekly podcast delving into one issue |
| 0:09.0 | focusing on Israel and the Jewish world right now. I'm your host, Arts and Culture, editor |
| 0:13.9 | Jessica Steinberg, and I'm here with my friend Rachel Goldberg-Polin, author of When We See You Again, about what happened to her and to her family, |
| 0:24.5 | when her son, Hirsch Goldberg, Poland, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, |
| 0:30.7 | 23, and murdered in captivity in August 24. |
| 0:36.2 | Just a few more notes about When We See You Again, it will be published in the U.S. in hard 24. Just a few more notes about when we see you again. |
| 0:39.3 | It will be published in the U.S. in hardcover and e-book on April 21st. |
| 0:44.1 | An audio edition will be released and will be read by Rachel. |
| 0:49.5 | And Rachel, as we all know, is an American-Israeli educator. |
| 0:54.0 | She became a very prominent voice advocating unity and compassion in the face of the tragedy of the hostage crisis of October 7th. |
| 1:05.3 | And just one more note before I welcome Rachel. |
| 1:07.6 | She's known for his symbolic use of masking tape, marked with a number of days |
| 1:12.6 | since October 7th, which she wore daily, even after Hershey's death, to continue advocating |
| 1:20.0 | for the remaining hostages. And it is the very fitting image for the cover of the book. |
| 1:27.0 | And, of course, Rachel, I'm so, first of all, so glad you're not wearing tape anymore, |
| 1:31.9 | that there's no need to wear a piece of tape. |
| 1:34.6 | But after that, a difficult intro, hi. |
| 1:38.3 | Hi. |
| 1:39.3 | Thank you for having me. |
| 1:40.9 | And good to see you, too. |
| 1:42.5 | I'm happy to be talking to you because there's love. |
| 1:48.9 | There's a lot of love. |
... |
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