There was scarcely a dry eye in the house at the DNC in Chicago Wednesday night, as the parents of a 23-year-old American-Israeli man being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza gave a heart-rending account of his capture on Oct. 7:
The DNC crowd chanted “Bring them home” as Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli taken hostage on Oct. 7, took the stage in Chicago. https://t.co/2r4Nmz4vqa pic.twitter.com/upKD75L47z
— ABC News (@ABC) August 22, 2024
Rachel Goldberg spoke first, painting a picture of who makes up the group of remaining hostages, including their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. You have to wonder if some of the information is news for many Democrats (If you’d like to keep tabs on the family’s efforts, their X account, Bring Hersh Home, is here).
She said:
At this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
They are from 23 different countries.
The youngest hostage is a one-year-old, redheaded baby boy, and the oldest is an 86-year old, mustachioed grandpa.
Among the hostages are eight American citizens.
She continued: “Among other Americans is our only son. His name is Hersh. He’s 23 years old and, like Vice President Kamala Harris, Hersh was born in Oakland, California.” She went on to describe the chaos at the Nova Music Festival that Hersh and his friend attended, at which, as she said, “367 young music lovers were killed,” adding that a total of 1,200 people were killed by the terrorists in southern Israel that day. Among those dead were 45 Americans.
Rachel said that her son’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 Jon, into Gaza. That was 320 days ago.” You can see the number signified on the parents’ clothing.
Anyone with a beating heart feels for this family, and all of the loved ones of the hostages. But they and the crowd at the convention missed the plot on two crucial points:
Near the end of the remarks, father Jon insisted that there could be some “Kumbaya” scenario that spares the citizens of Gaza. Again, you feel for the pain he must be going through, but the notion that Israel is responsible for what happens to civilians in Gaza has been debunked over and over again. Hamas makes its bases in civilian areas, which the IDF must bomb to kill the terrorists and destroy their hideouts.
IDF Uncovers Secret Hamas Data Center Directly Beneath UNRWA’s Gaza HQ
The parents’ speech comes just days after Israel announced it found the bodies of six Israeli hostages, murdered in Gaza.
HEARTBREAKING: IDF Recovers Bodies of Six Hostages Executed by Hamas
Before, during, and after the family’s remarks, the delegates chanted “Bring Them Home,” Here’s video from Arizona state Democrat Rep. Alma Hernandez, whose bio on X states that she’s an “Unapologetic Mex [Star of David symbol]….[and] Zionist.”:
My heart felt full and heavy to hear the convention chant😭 BRING THEM HOME! BRING THEM HOME!!!!! Hirsh, if you can hear us, we are here rooting for you and ALL the hostages to come home. I am so proud to see the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin take the stage and address the… pic.twitter.com/PQs85otPFx
— (((Rep.Alma Hernandez))) (@almaforarizona) August 22, 2024
If you can’t read the post, she wrote:
My heart felt full and heavy to hear the convention chant BRING THEM HOME! BRING THEM HOME!!!!! Hirsh, if you can hear us, we are here rooting for you and ALL the hostages to come home. I am so proud to see the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin take the stage and address the nation. Not a dry eye #DemConvention2024
I get the emotion of wanting to root for the family, and for all of the loved ones of the hostages. But they fall down when they insist the solution is to look to the Democrats and Kamala Harris as the potential next president to bring their son home. It’s total delusion to keep pretending that Harris has not been a heartbeat away from the presidency for nearly four years.
This is the administration that has done nothing but thwart Israel’s ability to end the war quickly. Biden blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly over his policy towards Hamas, and more recently placed a hold on shipments of weapons to Israel. I wrote about White House national security advisor John Kirby, just the other day, lashing out at a Netanyahu cabinet minister who rightly called out the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan as a joke. Nothing would be different with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The best bet for all Americans is to hope former President Donald Trump can regain the White House, and actually respect our ally in its quest to defeat the terror group once and for all–and bring the hostages home.
