logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
30m 43s

The mother of an Israeli hostage shares ...

AMERICA MEDIA
About this episode

On this week’s “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are honored to welcome Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages taken into Gaza following Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on Oct. 7. In the weeks since Hersh and 240 other hostages were brutally kidnapped, Rachel has met with a host of people, including the pope and the president, to share her son’s story. She was gracious enough to bring that story to “Jesuitical,” and she and the hosts shared a moving conversation.

They discuss:


  • Rachel’s family life and Hersh’s passion for reading and adventure

  • The last time Rachel saw Hersh on Oct. 6 and her experience learning about the massacre on Oct. 7

  • Rachel’s meeting with Pope Francis and the power of dialogue in sustaining hope

  • How Rachel’s Jewish faith has been challenged and served as a source of strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy


Support Jesuitical on Patreon or become a digital subscriber to America Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Aug 22
Best of Jesuitical: How a religious order decides it’s time to close up shop
This week, Jesuitical is bringing back a poignant yet hopeful conversation with Sister Donna Dodge, the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York, which recently decided to embark on a “path to completion.” That means the over 200-year-old congregation will no longer accept ... Show More
26m 59s
Aug 15
Best of Jesuitical: What's the deal with the Traditional Latin Mass?
Pope Francis' 2021 decree, Traditionis custodes, which limited the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, set off a heated and at times toxic debate between more traditionalist Catholics and those who want to see the reforms of the Second Vatican Council more fully implemente ... Show More
29m 46s
Aug 1
Best of Jesuitical: Is Augustine the most relatable saint?
Forget what you think you know about Saint Augustine. Maybe you only know the cities that take his name, or you had a tough experience in your introduction to philosophy class and found him medieval (in the pejorative sense) and scrupulous. But what if Augustine was actually the ... Show More
27m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Is Israel any safer after six months of war?
This weekend marks six months since the most deadly attack in Israel’s history roiled the region and the world. On October 7th 2023, hundreds of Hamas fighters poured across the border from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping some 250 men, women and children. Of the remaini ... Show More
40m 32s
Nov 2023
Father of 9-year-old hostage tells CNN how young daughter survived Hamas captivity
Over the last five days of the truce between Israel and Hamas, 81 hostages have been released, mostly women and children. One of those kids is 9-year-old Emily Hand. Her father, Thomas, was told that his daughter had died, and he told CNN days after the October 7 attack that her ... Show More
47m 21s
Apr 2024
Why young Jewish Americans are turning on Israel | Simone Zimmerman
“I was definitely raised to be a Jewish leader of some kind.” With college campuses all over the US gripped by intense battles around free speech, antisemitism and Palestinian rights - the voices of young Jewish Americans have led the way.  One of the boldest and most prominent v ... Show More
52m 47s
May 2021
Is Praying for Peace in the Middle East Enough?
For the past two weeks, the world has had its eyes on the violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Each day, new headlines emerge of Hamas launching rockets from Gaza and Israel bombing the strip in return. More than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have died in t ... Show More
1h 9m
Dec 2023
Bonus Episode: Mailbag
Many months ago, we solicited questions from you, our listeners, for our first-ever mailbag episode. The result was a wide-ranging conversation that wandered from the serious (Torah study) to the relatively frivolous (HBO’s Girls). We planned to release the episode in early Octob ... Show More
42m 35s
Apr 2024
Jon Stewart Interrogates America's Support of Israel | Christiane Amanpour
Jon Stewart checks in on the war in Gaza and interrogates how America's purported values stack up against its support of Israel. Plus, Ronny Chieng and Grace Kuhlenschmidt report from the eclipse's path of totality with startlingly different reports. And CNN Chief International A ... Show More
30m 57s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami