Today marks 257 days since the terrorist group Hamas attacked
Israel, killed about 1200 people, and took more than 250
people hostage.
About 116 of the remaining hostages in Gaza are believed
to be alive, including including dual American Israeli citizen Hirsch
Goldberg, Poland.
Hirsch was taken hostage by Hamas from the Nova Music
Festival on October 7th, and joining me now in studio
are Hirsch's parents, Rachel Goldberg Poland and John Poland.
Thanks to both you for being here.
I really appreciate it and as always, I'm so sorry.
It's under these circumstances, One thing that I've always wondered
about throughout this entire process.
Since October 7th, there are 8 hostages with dual American
Israeli citizenship, including your son.
Five of them, including your son, are believed to be
alive, three of them not.
Are you surprised that more isn't made in American media
and by American politicians about the fact that there are
five presumably living American hostages being held by a terrorist
group in Gaza?
I definitely think it is shocking that the vast majority
of Americans have no idea that there are eight U.S.
citizens currently, right now, as we're speaking, being held hostage
in Gaza.
I feel so strongly that I have these memories when
Brittany Griner was being unjustly detained, and of course, Evan
Gershkovitz, who's still being detained.
These household names, household names, the vast majority of Americans
have no idea that these eight U.S.
citizens are being held.
It's already 257 days and I find it just shocking.
People also aren't aware that of the 120 remaining hostages
that they are representatives of 24 different nations.
They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.
I very rarely hear anyone advocating for the Muslim Arabs
who are being held or the Thai Buddhist being held
or the black African Christians being held.
They're Nepalese, Argentinians, Germans, Polish.
You just don't hear it.
They try and I don't know who they is, but
the world is trying to create this monolithic, homogeneous group
of people and it's an absolute disservice and injustice to
those people being held.
And, and John, we're all about the same age.
I mean, I'm old enough to remember the American hostages
being held in Iran.
Obviously a different circumstance, but the whole country wore yellow
ribbons.
We, you know, Nightline started because of that crisis.
Day 34, day 115.
Does it surprise you and and what do you think?
Why do you think it is?
It disappoints me and I was thinking about it this
morning.
I don't get much exercise nowadays, but jet lagged up
early and running around Washington, you just the the city,
the country, the United States is steeped in emancipation, liberty,
freedom.
Today is Juneteenth that we're celebrating.
Americans don't like people being held against their will, certainly
not other Americans.
So it's disappointing that there isn't more conversation.
And it's surprising because it's something that is so core
to the United States of America.
We have people being held.
We got to do everything we can to get them
out.
And one step of that is awareness.
The country should be talking about this, should know about
it.
They should know the eight names of the Americans who
are being held.
You 2 both met with a bipartisan group of senators
yesterday to talk about this crisis, these hostage, this hostage
crisis in Gaza, including eight Americans, five of whom are
are living.
I believe this is your 11th trip to to Washington,
DC since October 7th.
Was there was there anything different about this visit or
that meeting?
That meeting was very unusual.
Actually.
It was a bipartisan meeting of several senators.
But what was unique about it is that we were
joined by CEOs of several very large, influential and powerful
companies, or like Oracle, correct, and Pfizer, and that one
tier organized and hosted the event.
Booz Allen's CEO was there.
What what I was impressed by was just how galvanized
they were that this is what we were just talking
about.
This isn't something that should be politicized.
This isn't an issue of Democrats versus Republicans.
Of course, in election season, everything becomes that.
But the room was saying didn't need us to say
to them.
The room was saying this is a human issue.
This is something that needs to unite all of us
around 1 cause.
And let's simplify this cause there are issues all over
the Middle East.
We've got to solve issues that are big ones in
the Middle East.
But let's not allow this to become so complex.
These are people being held against their will.
Let's focus and get them out.
And that was the tone in the room.
And we see night after night in Israel people protesting
against Prime Minister Netanyahu saying and the, and the hostage
families, I don't need to tell you have become a
a force in Israel saying the Netanyahu government, the IDF
are not doing enough.
They're not focusing on the hostages enough.
They're focusing too much on on other on other things.
Do do you agree?
The truth is there are two different groups of people
who you see in the streets coming out.
There are people who are gathering to support the hostage
families.
And that's one enormous group that that balloons to scores
of thousands of people every single Saturday night just supporting,
correct.
And then there's also groups of people protesting because they
feel that the government is not doing enough and they
feel that it's too long, it's too much suffering across
the entire region.
And it's time perhaps for different governance to try to
take a stab at this situation.
We have tried to remain apolitical.
The truth is we are laser focused on one thing,
and that is to get our only son home.
Our son who is a civilian, who was at a
music festival, who had his dominant left arm blown off
before he was taken captive.
That is where our focus is.
And we don't want to get caught in the weeds
of politics.
We're not geopolitical experts.
We're not military tacticians.
It really doesn't matter to me who makes this deal.
I don't care whose name is on it.
I don't care which country is the driving force behind
it.
I just want my son home.
And so we've been trying to be very apolitical in
our personal approach, but there's no judgement on anyone who
is in the street or any hostage family that is
doing what they feel is the right thing to get
their child, spouse, brother, sister, grandfather home.
What did you make of the, I'm sure you know
about this?
The Brooklyn Museum had a exhibit about the Nova Music
Festival where your beloved son was taken hostage and so
many innocent people were killed.
And there were actually protesters pro, not just anti Israel
or pro Palestinian, literally pro Hamas protesters there belittling the
pain, justifying the slaughter in the streets of New York.
It's totally astonishing.
We say all the time if you want to be
out supporting the Palestinians, we have no problem with that.
That's totally understandable.
But that it gets conflated with having to be anti
something else.
We saw people holding signs in New York that said
kill the hostages, how it had a thing and why
is that a thing?
Like, who wants to kill innocent hostages?
We were in a restaurant here in Washington, DC last
night, a fast food restaurant.
And somebody walked into the restaurant and said to the
workers, is this place Zionist?
Who are the owners of this place?
Oh, my God.
And we're witnessing this stuff that we kind of hear
about from afar.
And it is astonishing.
2024 in America, it is a very, very small, loud
minority.
And I just want to make sure, you know, that
most of the American people are are hoping and praying
that Hirsch gets home soon.
And we certainly feel that way here on The Lead
and on CNN.
Rachel and John, thanks so much for being here.
Appreciate it.
Thank you for continuing to tell the story and we
will continue to do so.
Here are the names of the five Israeli American hostages
thought to still be alive in Gaza.
20 year old Eden Alexander, 22 year old Omar Nutra,
23 year old Hirsch Goldberg polling you just met his
parents, 35 year old Segui Dekhohan and 65 year old
Keith Samuel Siegel.
I hope they get home soon.