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JesuiticalDecember 08, 2023
A photo of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 (Courtesy of the Goldberg-Polin family)

On this week’s “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are honored to welcome Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages taken into Gaza following Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on Oct. 7. In the weeks since Hersh and 240 other hostages were brutally kidnapped, Rachel has met with a host of people, including the pope and the president, to share her son’s story. She was gracious enough to bring that story to “Jesuitical,” and she and the hosts shared a moving conversation.

They discuss:

  • Rachel’s family life and Hersh’s passion for reading and adventure
  • The last time Rachel saw Hersh on Oct. 6 and her experience learning about the massacre on Oct. 7
  • Rachel’s meeting with Pope Francis and the power of dialogue in sustaining hope
  • How Rachel’s Jewish faith has been challenged and served as a source of strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy

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