Between Despair and Determination: Meet HIH Parent, Rebecca Bardach

For Rebecca Bardach—a veteran Hand in Hand parent and former staff member, writer, and activist—the events and aftermath of October 7th hit particularly close to home. Just days after the attack, Rebecca and her family received devastating news: their beloved cousin Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l was abducted to Gaza. Over the next year Hersh’s family fought tooth and nail for his release, up until receiving news of Hersh’s execution in August 2024.

In our most recent webinar, Rebecca spoke about how she has navigated the devastating personal and collective losses of the past year, while maintaining her commitment to our shared Arab-Jewish community.

“I found myself swinging between despair and determination,” shared Rebecca. “But through it all, Hand in Hand has been a point of light. I remember my daughter’s school counselor, an Arab woman named Angham, reached out to tell me she had met with my daughter Dariel that day. This was just a few days after the war started, and after Hersh had been taken hostage. 

‘My heart is with you,’ she wrote. And that she was here, and with us, for whatever we needed. That moment of sheer empathy has carried me through this whole time. It reassured me that all this terrible stuff happening was not going to shatter this beautiful community we’re a part of.

Hand in Hand is a place of such powerful and beautiful light. There’s such a heaviness we’re all carrying, and at Hand in Hand you suddenly feel it lifting. You can feel yourself breathing again, and feel there is possibility here.

During dark periods throughout history, a better future may have seemed entirely out of reach, as it does now for many of us. But when change happens, it’s because of the work being done at places like Hand in Hand. Because of all of us.”

You can join Rebecca and other courages HIH parents by supporting our mission today.