Mathew Schultz
JNS, July 7, 2024
“The June 27 debate between President Biden and former President Trump was a reminder to some viewers that Israel’s war against Hamas is not seen as the most important issue of the upcoming election in the United States.”
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was 23 when he was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival. Before he was taken, his dominant arm was blown off at the elbow by a grenade.
In pictures, Hersh—who was born in the United States and immigrated to Israel with his family when he was seven—is always smiling and usually standing shirtless in nature. An adventurer. Someone of whom it is most certainly said that he lights up the room when he walks in. Someone who, despite being young, has done a great deal of living—someone who is unafraid of living.
Omer Neutra, 22, grew up on Long Island. The son of Israeli parents, he was the captain of the basketball team at Solomon Schechter before making aliyah—immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return—and enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces. His friend Sarah Haiken-Dray described him to me as “goofy and kind,” the kind of person people naturally “gravitate toward.” … [To read the full article, click here]