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Parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin receive standing ovation at DNC
'Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you,' Rachel Goldberg said – 'Stay strong, survive'
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![Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois](https://cdn.i24news.tv/uploads/94/0c/72/c0/7b/ec/22/3c/05/e2/93/c6/0f/15/03/13/940c72c07bec223c05e293c60f150313.jpg?width=1000)
The parents of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night, receiving a standing ovation and calls of "Bring them home" from the crowd.
Speaking to Jon Polin, i24NEWS' Hebrew correspondent Yigal Ravid learned that the appearance "strengthened" the two parents, but that "only two people in the world decide" on the fate of Hersh, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
"Hersh is a happy-go-lucky, laid-back, good-humored, respectful, and curious person," Rachel Golderg said, describing her son as a "civilian."
She explained that her son went to the Nova music festival with a friend on the occasion of his 21st birthday.
As Hamas and other Gazan terrorist groups launched their attack on Israel on October 7. Goldberg said that "367 young music lovers were killed" at the music festival, with her son "stolen" on a pickup truck and taken to the Gaza Strip.
"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. "It’s a humanitarian issue."
He praised the Biden administration for "working tirelessly for a hostage and ceasefire deal that will bring our precious children, brothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren home and will stop the despair in Gaza."
Noting that the families of the eight American hostages meet regularly in Washington, DC, he thanked US Democrats and Republicans for making the release of the hostages a bipartisan issue.
He added that international solidarity with the families has given them "air."
"There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict of the Middle East. In a competition of pain there are no winners," he said.
"Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you," Goldberg said. "Stay strong, survive."
The parents of Omer Neutra, also an American-Israeli kidnapped by Gazan terrorists, spoke last month at the Republican National Convention, getting a similar reception from Republicans. They were also present at the Democratic event, along with four other families.