Hamas video of American-Israeli hostage fuels protest in Israel

“Qatar, Egypt, United States, Hamas and Israel. Be brave and seize this moment to make a deal.” After Hamas shared a video of their hostage son, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the message from his parents is clear: peace must return and Israel must get the hostages home. Hundreds of other Israeli citizens thought so too, who took to the streets on Wednesday evening and Thursday.

The propaganda images, which Hamas distributed via Telegram on Wednesday evening, provide the first sign of life for 24-year-old Goldberg-Polin since he was taken as a hostage to Gaza on October 7. He explains in the beginning of the video that on that day he went to the Nova festival to relax “but instead I had to fight for survival.” He appears to be missing part of his left arm.

While the man appears to read something from left to right at various times in the video, he points the finger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. “They should be ashamed,” says Goldberg-Polin. Visibly under pressure, he blames the Israeli government for rejecting all proposed deals and adds that “air force bombing has already killed 70 hostages.” That claim could not be independently verified. It is not known how many of the 130 remaining hostages are still alive.

DS Video | New video of Hamas hostage, parents react: “We love you, be strong, survive.” — © De Standaard

The video should at least prove that Goldberg-Polin is still alive. It is unclear when the images were recorded, although he refers to “vacation” several times. In Israel, Jews celebrate Passover from Monday April 22 to Tuesday April 30.

Protest against Netanyahu

The Goldberg-Polin story has been receiving international attention for some time. His mother, Rachel Goldberg, previously advocated for the hostages to US President Joe Biden and the United Nations and appeared this month on the list of the 100 most influential people of 2024, drawn up by Times magazine. At protests in Israel, people often showed up holding posters and photos of Goldberg-Polin. And that was also the case on Wednesday evening and Thursday. The propaganda video, which was distributed on Israeli media with his family’s permission, mobilized people in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

In Jerusalem, protesters, including relatives of hostages, marched towards Netanyahu’s home. Attendees set fire to cardboard boxes and signs and called on the Israeli government to get the hostages home as quickly as possible. Elsewhere in the city, people making the same demands and beating drums gathered around the car of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as he emerged from a synagogue. At least two people are said to have been arrested in Jerusalem.

With tied hands, painted red and holding signs with the words “bring them home,” Israeli citizens also expressed their dissatisfaction in Tel Aviv over the lack of an agreement on the hostages. Both Wednesday evening and Thursday they protested at the Israeli defense headquarters, where the war cabinet had met on Thursday. Both the possible ground offensive in Rafah and the issue of the hostages would have been on the table there. Last Saturday, Tel Aviv was the scene of more large-scale protests. In addition to the release of the hostages in Gaza, the thousands of attendees also demanded early elections in Israel.