Hoping for Better, 3 Years Since Oct. 7
Three years since the horrific Oct. 7 attack, Rachel Goldberg-Polin writes about the pain of losing her son, Hersh, and her hopes for healing.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, speaking at the 2026 TIME100 Summit, reflects on the three years since her son Hersh was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 hostage situation. Hersh was 23 years old and taken from a peace festival. His body was returned skeletal and with signs of torture. Every day, Rachel wakes up to the confusion of this truth and feels trapped in a prison of pain.
Although people care and want her family to improve, Rachel does not feel better. She wishes to adapt to this truth and find a way to breathe again, but the suffering remains deeply personal. Rachel compares her experience to that of families who lost loved ones on 9/11, but acknowledges that the journey to healing is not the same for everyone.
She hopes that one day, she will be able to speak of progress, but for now, she remains trapped in the anguish of her loss.
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
