Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered Oct. 7 hostage, represents victims of terrorism at UN

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a hostage murdered by Hamas, spoke at the United Nations on Friday. She represented Middle Eastern victims of terrorism during the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.

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My name is Rachel, and I will always be the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Her recorded message began with her identifying herself as Hersh's mother, a role she will always hold. She recounted how her son lost an arm during his kidnapping by Hamas on October 7, 2023. "Hersh will always be my only son," she stated, emphasizing his age and her enduring love.

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Hersh will always be my only son. Hersh will always be my eldest child, and Hersh will always be 23 years old.

Goldberg-Polin's testimony was shown alongside those of other terror victims globally. She is the first Israeli to hold this representative role, which has previously been given to Palestinians. She detailed her son's execution at close range and his return to her after 330 days, describing the profound grief of receiving his body.

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My son was executed at close range and returned to me after 330 days. That body that I had carried in my body for nine months, many moons ago. That body and soul, that I had adored and beheld.

She referenced a 1932 correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud on the human tendency toward war. Goldberg-Polin quoted Freud's explanation that destructive entities on opposing sides of a conflict share more in common with each other than with the people they claim to represent. She concluded with a plea for civilization to use its wisdom and strength to choose righteousness, stating, "The choice is hard, but the choice is ours."

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Civilization has to decide whether to rise to the challenge to continually contain our natural tendencies toward war, or to give that slavery of selfish interest to give into it.