Durbin Honors Hersh Goldberg-Polin On Senate Floor

09.09.24

Durbin Honors Hersh Goldberg-Polin On Senate Floor

Goldberg-Poling, who had ties to Illinois, had been held hostage by Hamas since the October 7th attacks

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor to honor Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held hostage by Hamas since the October 7^th attacks. During his speech, Durbin reflected on the life and legacy of Mr. Goldberg-Polin, who had ties to Illinois, and commended his parents for doing everything they could to bring him home before he was murdered by Hamas.

"He [Goldberg-Polin] was one of the young people at the music festival on October 7 in Israel during the heinous Hamas attack that sparked so much death and destruction. He lost part of his arm trying to protect others from grenades, only to find himself taken hostage. His parents, Rachel and Jon, spent the next 329 days of his captivity crisscrossing the globe on a desperate quest to save their son and end the ghastly war. Can there be a crueler fate for a parent than suffering the daily plea and waiting for a horribly injured child's release? Hersh is no longer with us, but the heroic lengths his mom and dad made to save him touched many of us deeply, including me," said Durbin.

Durbin then questioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since the horrific October 7 Hamas attack. Durbin warned early in the conflict that Israel should remember the U.S.'s mistakes after 9/11 in responding amid unimaginable rage and pain.

"I believe this lesson has been lost on the current Israeli Prime Minister, who with each passing day seems to step deeper into the pernicious and ruthless trap set by Hamas. He seems to have no long-term plan for stability, failed to secure the release of the hostages, created a terrible humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and appears more concerned with his far-right coalition's political survival than a viable path forward. Let me be clear: there are those in the region who want to destroy Israel, and the nation has a right exist and a right to defend itself. But I worry the current Prime Minister is pursuing a highly counterproductive strategy," Durbin continued.

Durbin concluded, "He [Netanyahu] is alienating allies in the region and abroad who want to help with a path forward, creating even more suffering and animosity among the Palestinian people, and pursuing political survival above all else. Or as Middle East expert Tom Friedman recently wrote, 'Netanyahu has one interest: his own immediate political survival, even if it undermines Israel's long-term survival'… It is long overdue that both sides reach an agreement on a ceasefire that leads to the release of the remaining hostages, greater humanitarian access, and a long-term, two-state vision that allows for both Israelis and Palestinians to live safely and in dignity."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.

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