‘Punch in the gut’: Mourners remember Israeli hostage with local ties killed by Hamas

NEWTON, Mass. — More than one hundred people gathered in Newton Sunday for a candlelight vigil in prayer to honor the Israeli hostages killed by Hamas this weekend.

“Getting the news of the six hostages just yesterday and of course of Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a punch in the gut,” said Rabbi Marc Baker, President and CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was an Israeli-American abducted from a music festival along with hundreds of others taken hostage on October 7th, sparking the war in Israel.

Hersh’s aunt lives in Newton, and he has other ties to the greater Boston Jewish community too.

“For my family personally, he was my daughter’s counselor when she was there on her high school Israel trip just over a year ago,” said Rabbi Baker. “So she’s told us personal stories about him, his vibrancy, his love of life, and it feels like he’s everyone’s son.”

Many are now laying flowers at a makeshift memorial for Hersh on Washington Street in Brookline after learning the news that he was killed.

Rabbi Baker says the last ten months have been traumatic for Jewish people around the world.

“Let’s not forget that more than one thousand people were killed on October 7th and Hersh is also representative of that – we are grieving loss of life, we’re angry about the attacks on October 7th and that the world isn’t talking about them enough,” said Rabbi Baker.

“I stand with Israel I stand with the hostages, the families of the hostages and all the Jews and all the people affected by what’s going on there,” said Marty Lamb, at the vigil Sunday.

Now nearly one year later, more than 100 people are still held hostage by Hamas, so many here will continue to push for their release.

“And yet this isn’t over, Israel is still fighting a war, fighting for its survival and its future, and again these hostages and these families are still waiting and we need to bring them home,” said Rabbi Baker.

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