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Hapoel Jerusalem unveils new soccer jersey honoring the memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin

The club’s jersey honors Goldberg-Polin as ‘a child of light, love and peace

(JTA) — Hapoel Jerusalem F.C., a soccer club in Israel’s capital, has unveiled a new jersey honoring its late ardent fan Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed by Hamas while in captivity in Gaza.

The jersey, which the club says it will wear for its “upcoming cycle,” features Goldberg-Polin’s face on the front, surrounded by the phrases “May your memory be a revolution” and “a child of light, love and peace” in Hebrew. The “revolution” line is a reference to the eulogy delivered by Jon Polin, his father, at Goldberg-Polin’s funeral on Monday in Jerusalem.

Goldberg-Polin, 23, was one of six slain hostages Israeli troops discovered in Gaza on Saturday, shortly after they had been killed by Hamas . Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage at the Nova music festival during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7.

The California native became a Hapoel fan shortly after moving to Israel as a child and quickly became a fixture in the stands, where he was frequently seen, shirtless, leading the crowd in chants. He was also a member of the Malha Brigade, the team’s official fan club.

Hapoel, which was founded as part of Israel’s labor movement in 1926 and is fan-owned, has a distinct left-leaning ideology and following, an identity that appeared to appeal to Goldberg-Polin. His mother Rachel once described the club as “a social justice club that happened to have been attached to a soccer team.”

Immediately following Goldberg-Polin’s capture on Oct. 7, Hapoel was an active participant in calls for the release of the hostages. The team frequently used its social media channels to advocate for Goldberg-Polin’s release, and his face and name were common sights on signs and banners at home games. The team also shared live coverage from Goldberg-Polin’s funeral.

Prior to the team’s first game on Aug. 31 — hours before news broke that Goldberg-Polin’s body had been found in Gaza — his parents, who had become global faces of the movement advocating for the hostages’ release, addressed the fans in a video message.

“Shalom, Hapoel fans and friends of Hersh,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in the video. “We, Hersh’s parents, thank you so much — for everything. Hapoel fans, players, owners, employees – everyone.”

Now, the team’s beloved “friend in the stands” will be proudly represented on players’ chests. Hapoel Jerusalem is currently in 10th place in the Israeli Premier League, the country’s top-tier soccer league, and plays its next match Sept. 14 against Hapoel Haifa.

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