ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Families of American Israeli hostages are here at the Democratic National Convention applying pressure on party leaders to help bring their loved ones home. In an emotional moment last night, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin addressed the convention.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RACHEL GOLDBERG: Among the hostages are eight American citizens. One of those Americans is our only son.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Sarah McCammon has been talking with families of hostages here in Chicago, and she has this report.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin are the parents of Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. They took the stage last night to chants of support.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Bring him home. Bring him home. Bring him home.
MCCAMMON: As the crowd cheered, Goldberg became overwhelmed for a moment, placing her head on the podium as her husband reached out to comfort her before she addressed the crowd.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GOLDBERG: At this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.
MCCAMMON: Goldberg said her son was celebrating his 23rd birthday at the Nova music festival in southern Israel when the attack began. He was among dozens of those in attendance taken hostage by Hamas into Gaza. Hundreds more were murdered.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GOLDBERG: Since then, we live on another planet.
MCCAMMON: Her husband, Jon Polin, acknowledged that they were speaking at a political convention.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JON POLIN: But needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAMMON: Still, the conflict has become a political issue and a delicate one for Democrats, who faced opposition from within the party to the Biden administration's support for Israel. Other family members of hostages have been in Chicago this week, meeting with political leaders at events held on the sidelines of the convention.
JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: The Democratic Party has to figure that out. Israel isn't going anywhere. The frictions around Israel within the Democratic Party precede October 7. It only intensified it greatly, of course.
MCCAMMON: Jonathan Dekel-Chen's son, 36-year-old Sagui, is an Israeli American father of three who was taken hostage from the Nir Oz kibbutz. Tensions over Israel policy have swirled around the convention. About three dozen of the 4,000 total delegates to the DNC have dubbed themselves uncommitted, calling on Democrats to demand a permanent cease-fire. A few thousand protesters have been holding demonstrations in Chicago this week.
ORNA NEUTRA: For everyone calling here, you know, to stop the war, you know, we are on the same side.
MCCAMMON: Orna Neutra is the mother of Omer Neutra, a 22-year-old IDF soldier who grew up in New York and also was taken hostage on October 7.
NEUTRA: So, you know, the demonstrators should be calling on Hamas to stop the war and release the hostages just as much as any other party that's involved in this war.
MCCAMMON: Orna and her husband Ronen addressed the Republican convention in Milwaukee last month. From the Democratic Convention stage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin's father, Jon Polin, called on political leaders to keep working toward a hostage deal and an end to the war.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
POLIN: 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.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAMMON: Uncommitted delegates have criticized Democratic leaders for declining to allow a Palestinian American speaker to address the convention. Democratic officials have met with a variety of groups in recent days, including Arab, Muslim and Jewish organizations. Vice President Harris has called for a deal to stop the fighting and bring the hostages home.
Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Chicago. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
