Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s extended interview
60 Minutes
CBS News
3.8 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Anderson Cooper spoke with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, an American Israeli mother whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 and then executed.
Editor's note: This podcast is an extended version of the interview that was broadcast on 60 Minutes on Sunday, April 19, 2026. This extended version was condensed for clarity.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 60 Minutes Overtime. |
| 0:05.0 | Rachel Goldberg, Poland is an American Israeli living in Jerusalem, whose life was forever changed in October 7, 2023, when her only son Hirsch was taken hostage by Hamas. |
| 0:16.7 | Rachel and her husband John worked tirelessly to bring Hirsch and the other hostages home, crossing the globe, meeting with world leaders. |
| 0:24.7 | They did everything they could to get their son back. |
| 0:28.1 | After 328 days in captivity, however, Hirsch was executed by Hamas in a tunnel in Gaza. |
| 0:34.3 | I spoke with Rachel in February about Hirsch, the pain of losing her son and what she's |
| 0:39.9 | learned from her grief. This is an extended version of that 60 Minutes conversation. |
| 0:44.5 | What was Hirsch like? |
| 0:47.0 | Easy. |
| 0:48.0 | Easy. |
| 0:49.0 | Easy. |
| 0:50.0 | Easy. |
| 0:51.0 | The universe really knew what it was doing when it said, Rachel's going to have one son. |
| 0:58.0 | She said, this is the one for her. |
| 1:01.0 | I was really blessed. |
| 1:04.0 | When we met Rachel in Jerusalem, she'd recently finished writing a book called When We See You Again, which comes out this week. |
| 1:11.6 | You write in the book that Hirsch was on the brink of budding, becoming, and blooming. |
| 1:16.6 | Yeah. He was on the cusp of adulthood. |
| 1:19.6 | Yeah. I had found a note that he had written to us |
| 1:24.6 | right before the Yom Kippur holiday came in in |
| 1:30.3 | 2023, he wrote to John and me. |
| 1:33.3 | That's the day of atonement. |
... |
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