SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) — Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s funeral is being held Monday in Jerusalem.
He’s an Israeli-American whose parents are originally from the Chicago area.
Goldberg-Polin was among six hostages found murdered over the weekend in a Hamas-controlled underground tunnel in Gaza.
He was captured during the October 7th attack last year.
“We believed that this would end differently,” said Rabbi Zvi Engel of the Congregation Or Torah in Skokie. “We hoped. In this very hall, we prayed.”
RELATED: Chicago area mourns death of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Rabbi Engel is among many mourning the death Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old’s paternal grandmother is a member of his synagogue.
“She said that she was really focused on trying to make sure that they could make it to Jerusalem, to pay their respects, to be together as a family,” Engle said. “We know his whole family. We know the cousins. We know everybody. We’re all very close with each other.”
Goldber-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the Oct. 7 attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him, his left hand missing and clearly speaking under duress, sparking new protests in Israel at the time, urging the government to do more to secure his and others’ freedom.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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