In a nation united in mourning, a popular Jerusalem soccer team joined the funeral procession of Hersh Goldberg-Polin through the city streets Monday evening, bidding farewell to one of their dedicated fans.
The highly unusual move by members of the Hapoel Jerusalem soccer team comes amid an outpouring of support from both Israel and the United States for the American-born Israeli—one of six hostages murdered by Hamas in Gaza last week.
“We awaken to a horrible day for the Hapoel Jerusalem community,” the club, which plays in Israel’s Premier League, tweeted on Sunday. “After nearly a year of crying out his name and praying for his safety, the mourning is unbearable, and words can’t begin to describe it.”
Goldberg-Polin, who had been a longtime member of the team’s official fan club, had become something of a Jerusalem son for the team itself over the last 11 months since he and some 250 others were abducted by Hamas. Banners bearing his name and photo, accompanied by messages like “Bring Hersh Home,” were omnipresent at the team’s games as late as Saturday before news of the hostages’ execution was made public.
The team was founded nearly a century ago and belonged to Israel’s powerful trade union, representing socialist values, as opposed to its city rival Beitar Jerusalem, a team associated with the right-leaning “revisionist” movement.
At his funeral, which was attended by thousands and shared live on the club’s social media account, the teams’ numbers stood out in the vast crowd.
