CHICAGO, IL – Families of hostages held by Hamas took the stage at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night. Their message steered clear of politics but advocated for those still being held in Gaza. We spoke with one of the families. They want to make sure their loved ones are not forgotten.
As Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg walked on the DNC stage, the crowd gave them a long standing ovation and cheered “bring them home”. They are the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The parents got emotional on stage.
“At this moment 109 treasured human beings are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza,” aid Goldberg.
A chance to speak at the convention is a huge opportunities. Millions of people tune in to watch the convention. But their message stayed away from politics.
“This is a bipartisan issue, it’s a humanitarian issue, it’s apolitical,” said Orna Neutra, Omer Neutra’s mother.
22 year-old Omer was enrolled in Binghamton University but decided to do a gap year in Israel to join the Israeli military. On October 7th, Omer was on patrol near the southern Israeli border when Hamas attacked. He was captured and taken into Gaza.
A few weeks ago, Omer’s parents took the stage at the Republican National Convention, where they too were met with applause. At the RNC, they shared the same message as Polin and Goldberg: to keep the hostage situation in the spotlight.
“Any stage we can use so that the [inaudible] of the hostages is not forgotten and that their names are known and their stories are told until they’re back,” said Orna Neutra.
“We just need to keep thinking about him, talking about him because we have no idea how long this is going to take and it’s taking too long,” said Daniel Neutra, Omer’s brother.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has been a sensitive topic, especially with Democrats. At the DNC, many pro-Palestinian protesters have rallied outside the convention. Some were arrested after breaching the perimeter.
On night one of the DNC, President Joe Biden told the crowd they’re close to a ceasefire agreement.
“We’ve heard many times in the past couple of months a ceasefire deal is close to being finalized but at this point we need to see it happen,” said Daniel Neutra. “We miss Omer a lot and we think about him all the time.”
“We must have hope,” said Orna Neutra. “We must have hope. If we don’t have hope, we’re not gonna get him back.”
