Chanting ‘Bring them home,’ tens of thousands applaud Goldberg-Polins’ speech at DNC
Audience’s attentive silence during address by parents of US-Israeli hostage Hersh puts to bed days of speculation that such a speech might highlight rifts in party over Gaza war
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of people broke into chants of “Bring them home,” got to their feet and stayed standing throughout the speech given by the parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
After days of speculation regarding whether DNC organizers would offer a speaking slot to one of the American hostage families in town for the confab — and whether such an address would expose rifts in the party over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza — the attentive and respectful silence that enveloped the United Center during Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s speech provided an answer.
Dozens of those standing had yellow hostage ribbon pins fastened to their suit jackets; others were wrapped in Palestinian keffiyehs.
The couple drew overwhelming applause from the tens of thousands of DNC attendees, as they asserted that now is the time for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, and as they recognized the human cost of the war on civilians in both Gaza and Israel.
“In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region is a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza,” said Jon.
The speech came days after the US submitted what it called a “final bridging proposal” to Israel and Hamas and expressed optimism that a deal could be reached by the end of this week. But by the time the Goldberg-Polins took the stage on Wednesday night, much of that optimism had dissipated, as Arab and Israeli negotiators told The Times of Israel that the US had mismanaged the talks, bringing them to yet another impasse.
Still, for their nine minutes on stage, Jon and Rachel seemed to offer Democratic delegates hope that a deal is still possible, if not necessary.
“The time is now,” Jon asserted.
A teary-eyed, visibly moved Rachel began her remarks by sharing the story of her 23-year-old son, who is one of the 109 hostages abducted on October 7 still held in Gaza.
Tailoring her speech, given countless times, to the particular audience at the United Center, Rachel noted that “like Vice President Kamala Harris, Hersh was born in Oakland, California,” as photos of her son were displayed on the jumbotron above her.
Rachel noted that 45 Americans were killed in the massacre of nearly 1,200 people on October 7 and that eight Americans are among those still being held captive by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.
She recalled how Hersh was attending the Nova music festival “advertised as celebrating peace” when Hamas launched its onslaught.
Hersh’s left forearm was blown off by a grenade tossed into a roadside bomb shelter where he and 27 others were hiding after the attack began.
“He was loaded onto a pickup truck and stolen from his life, and me and Jon, into Gaza,” Rachel said. “Since then, we live on another planet.”
Nonetheless, Jon said he and his wife draw comfort from returning home to Chicago, where they were born and raised and still have family.
Hersh’s father went on to thank members of Congress from both parties, and particularly the Biden administration, for their efforts to secure a hostage deal.
The praise was in contrast from the frustration that many family members of those being held captive have repeatedly directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they have accused of scuttling efforts to secure a hostage deal in order to maintain his hawkish coalition in which the far-right flank opposes such an agreement with Hamas.
But the Goldberg-Polins’ message was devoid of criticism.
“We’re also profoundly thankful to you — the millions of people in the United States and all over the world who have been sending love, support and strength to the hostage families. You’ve kept us breathing in a world without air,” said Jon, who, like his wife, wore “320” written in black marker on a piece of white masking tape stuck to his shirt, a number they have painfully updated each new day that their son has spent in captivity.
With the gratitude came a stern message: “This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Jon said to further applause from the crowd.
“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 continued. “In our Jewish tradition, we say… Every person is an entire universe. We must save all these universes.”
Rachel then addressed her son directly: “Hersh! Hersh!”
She offered a message she has voiced repeatedly over the past 10 and a half months, doing so this time with particular fervor.
“If you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.”
While their comments marked the first speech at the Democratic Convention from a hostage family, the issue has received a handful of other mentions since the start of the confab, including from US President Joe Biden, with all speakers who raised the issue agreeing with the Goldberg-Polin’s urgency — both for the sake of the hostages and for Gazan civilians.
Taking the stage shortly before the Polins, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asserted that Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are listening when voters say, “We need a ceasefire and an end to the loss of innocent lives in Gaza and to bring hostages home.”
Two earlier speakers — Reps. Tom Suozzi and Debbie Wasserman Schultz — wore yellow hostage ribbon pins.
The Goldberg-Polins’ securing of a spot on the DNC stage also provided hope of a speaking slot to “uncommitted” delegates who led a protest vote movement against Biden in the Democratic primaries over his support for Israel.
Abbas Alawieh told reporters at a press conference shortly after the hostage family’s address that he thought DNC organizers would accept his movement’s request.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar just walked up and sat down.
She hugged the sit-in’s leader, who hugged her and sobbed. People still pouring out after Tim Walz spoke.
“We’re going to keep going,” the sit-in leader said. https://t.co/5e2Bw34baQ pic.twitter.com/MJyGPSFNhm
— Jake Sheridan (@JakeSheridan_) August 22, 2024
But earlier Tuesday evening, Harris’s camp informed Alawieh that no such space would be offered to a physician who worked in the Strip or any Palestinian American.
As a result, a broken Alawieh said he would be staging a sit-in with fellow uncommitted activists outside the United Center and would not be leaving until a Palestinian American speaker is given a spot on the convention stage.
