The Jewish community was represented broadly at the Democratic National Convention’s third night where Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of a 23-year-old American hostage held in Gaza, brought the United Center to tears as they made the case that bringing the hostages home “is not a political issue.”
The Goldberg-Polins recounted the attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, where their son Hersh was captured while attending the Nova Music Festival, held near the Gaza border.
“He’s 23 years old, and like Vice President Kamala Harris, Hersh was born in Oakland, California,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said from the DNC stage. “Hersh is a happy-go-lucky, laid-back, good humor, respectful and curious person. He is a civilian.”
She said that in the attack, “Hersh’s left forearm, his dominant arm, was blown off before he was loaded onto a pickup truck and stolen from his life, and me and John into Gaza.”
“And that was 320 days ago,” she added pointedly. “Since then, we live on another planet. Anyone who is a parent or has had a parent can try to imagine the anguish and misery that John and I and all the hostage families are enduring.”
Many in the audience were crying during the emotional speech, touched by the struggle of two parents attempting to bring home their only son.
“This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue,” Jon Polin said as he took the microphone. “It is a humanitarian issue.”
“There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners,” he added, calling for both the return of the hostages and a lasting ceasefire with Hamas as the cameras kept cutting to audience members in tears. One was holding onto a #BringThemHome wristband so tight it looked like it might snap.
“Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive,” Goldberg-Polin concluded.
The entire audience gave the couple a standing ovation, both before and after their speech, while a chant of “Bring Them Home” broke out among DNC attendees.
Other Democrats displayed their support for the return of all the captives, including Debbie Wasserman-Schultz wearing a pin in honor of hostages in Gaza.
Jason Kaufman, Cantor for a Jewish congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, told TheWrap that throughout his experience volunteering for the DNC this week, he has “felt a strong showing of the Jewish community.”
“It’s been very heartwarming to see,” Kaufman added, noting that many attendees stopped him throughout the conference to admire his yarmulke, which says “Harris 2024.”
“So many people are coming to take pictures with it and are excited to see Jewish support for Kamala Harris, who has stood with the Jewish people throughout her entire career,” the DNC volunteer said.
Kaufman added that Harris has “stood with the Jewish people throughout this incredibly challenging time,” referencing the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza. Tensions in the U.S. flared early this year over Israel’s attacks against Hamas in Gaza, and the debate over America’s support for Israel’s actions spilled over into the presidential election as some view the Biden administration’s stance as too hard and others too soft.
Pro-Palestine protests even materialized outside the DNC in Chicago this week, but turned up a more muted and smaller crowd than expected.
“I’m just so proud to express my Jewish values by throwing my support to Vice President Kamala Harris on her quest to be the first female president,” Kaufman said, who describes himself as a “proud American, proud Democrat, and a proud Zionist.”
