In just 23 years, Hadar Goldin lived a life filled with art and creativity, honorable military service and religious observance, friendships and camaraderie. He was a son, brother, good friend, serious intellect, fiance and artist. In short, Goldin was a Renaissance man who packed more life and service into 23 years than many do into a lifetime.
A lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces’ Givati Brigade – an infantry force that works in urban environments and on counter terrorism – Goldin led a reconnaissance team into the Gaza tunnels, where he was murdered by Hamas terrorists during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. They then dragged his body further underground beneath Rafah in Gaza, where he was kept, under now-dead Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s orders, as a prized bargaining chip, Leah Goldin, Hadar’s mother, told Washington Jewish Week on Jan. 11 in an exclusive interview.
The Goldin family worked tirelessly for more than a decade to bring their son and brother home, launching exhibits at the Knesset, the U.N. General Assembly, cities across Israel, the U.S. and Europe. They also created and published a book of Hadar’s commentary on a religious text in Hebrew and traveled to numerous speaking engagements. Leah Goldin even filmed and produced a documentary on how the exhibit came together.
Yet, Hadar Goldin’s body was held for 11 years and three months. His return only came in November of last year. He was buried with full IDF honors in the Kfar Saba military cemetery, not far from Tel Aviv, on Nov. 11, 2025. “Then,” his mother said, “we sat a second shiva,” as the family had been notified in August 2014 by the IDF’s chief rabbi that their son was declared deceased.
Painting for Peace
Accompanied by her husband, Simcha Goldin, Leah visited the Bender JCC in Rockville on Jan. 11 to open “Hadar Goldin: The Final Peace,” a modest-yet-meaningful collection of Goldin’s paintings, sketches and cartoons chosen by his family from his prolific canvases, works on paper and even a page from his study notes of Jewish philosophy — all created between 2005 and 2013, when Hadar was a teenager and young adult.
Asked to recall her son, Leah Goldin smiled. “What can I tell you? Hadar was amazing as a child, teenager, as a grownup, as a soldier.” A mother of four, she said Hadar and Tzur, her youngest, were twins, and they were both great fun and full of energy. “With twins, it’s always a balagan [chaos]. They were a team: Tzur was the silent one and Hadar the spokesman. He was shovav [mischievous] but very sweet.”
Both parents filled their children’s lives with art and music lessons, Orthodox religious observances and lively discussions, a love of photography, literature and culture. The family spent a sabbatical year in Cambridge, England, where Simcha, a history professor, lectured, and the twins attended a program that offered art, design and media studies, which weren’t available at their science and math high school in Israel. Both boys immersed themselves in these new experiences and blossomed.
Back home in Israel, as Hadar readied for his IDF military service, there was no question that this budding artist/scholar would pursue officer training. “Of course,” Leah said with pride, “all our family are officers, starting with our lieutenant colonel,” gesturing to her husband, “all four children were officers.”
Growing Into Art Piece by Piece
“Hadar was interested in everything,” his mother emphasized, noting that he participated in intensive Jewish philosophy courses in “Mesillat Yesharim,” an ethical dialogic text written in the 18th century. An annotated page from Hadar’s personal copy appears in the exhibit, demonstrating his deep interest and dialogue with Jewish ideals of divine service to God.
On display at the Goldman Art Gallery through Feb. 15, the selected paintings, sketches and drawings, which were enlarged and reprinted on canvas for the traveling exhibit, trace the young artist’s exploration and growth as a painter. Among them are studies of Marc Chagall’s “Green Violinist” and Salvador Dali’s “Woman with a Head of Roses.” The landscapes — vibrantly colored with thick impressionistic brush strokes — capture Israel’s southern desert, its beautiful green forests, seaside views, a mythical dove.
A few works from the Cambridge year include a package of sketches, photos, notes and an artist statement along with the final work, titled “A Final Peace.” The project captured street musicians on a rainy Cambridge day. This glimpse into Hadar’s creative process provided the title for the show. Ironically, the project was intended to be called “A Final Piece,” but Hadar, in a characteristically Israeli spelling error, misspelled piece as peace. The mistake resonated a decade later as his family put together the exhibit.
Among the approximately 75 guests at the Jan. 11 opening were six IDF servicemen serving as military attaches at the Israeli Embassy, a number of members of the Israeli community in the region and Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which was established by the Trump administration in February 2025. Terrell said he worked with the Goldin family for four and a half months in the ongoing process that ultimately brought Hadar home for burial.
Fighting for Values
Eyal Naor, Israel’s minister of congressional affairs in Washington, D.C., said, “We’re so glad Hadar is back after so many years. His memory lives on with his art and with his family. And we still have one last soldier, Ran [Gvili], to bring home.” As of press time, Gvili’s body has been held for 830 days.
The exhibit is a touchstone for Naor, reminding those who visit to keep alive the memory of all those who were lost as well as those who were injured, along with their families and friends. “Talking about this,” he said, “keeps them in our memory and our lives. Hadar … was an amazing human being, a son, a brother, an artist, a soldier. … His story is an important part of us.”
“We fought to bring Hadar back because it’s a question of values,” Simcha Goldin said. “I serve as a lieutenant colonel in the army reserves and know war and military history.
Values and professional [army] service must go together. With Hadar, it was a combination of those values because the soldiers wanted to bring their comrade back. When you follow your values, you win the war … [even] though the definition of winning with terrorist groups is complicated.”
Finally, Simcha stated, “It’s very important to bring home Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza.” As Leah emphasized, “And never repeat Hadar’s story. By fighting for Ran, this will actually finish the war, because it’s fighting for values and not for territory or other interests.”
“Hadar Goldin: The Final Peace” is on view at the Goldman Art Gallery of the Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, 6125 Montrose Road, Rockville. The exhibit is appropriate for all ages, and the Bender JCC invites groups to arrange educational programs and tours. For more information, visit benderjccgw.org/calendar/hadar-goldin-the-final-peace-exhibit or call 301-881-0100.
Lisa Traiger is an award-winning arts journalist who covers the performing and visual arts in the Washington, D.C., region and beyond.
