Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of Hersh who was kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza on October 7, on Wednesday night addressed the Democratic National Convention being held in Chicago.
The crowd chanted "bring them home" as Hersh’s parents took the stage, bringing Hersh’s mother to tears.
“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 grandpa. Among the hostages are eight American citizens. One of those 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,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin began her remarks.
She described Hersh as a “happy-go-lucky, laid back, good humored, respectful and curious person”, as a civilian who loves music and who has been obsessed with geography and travel since he was a little boy.
“On October 7, Hersh and his best friend Aner [Shapira] went to a music festival in the south of Israel. It was advertised as celebrating peace, love and unity. They also went to celebrate Hersh’s 23rd birthday,” the mother continued.
She described how Hersh, Aner and 27 other festival goers took refuge in a bomb shelter as rockets began to rain down on the festival.
“Terrorists began to throw grenades into the shelter. Aner stood in the doorway and repelled seven of those grenades before the eighth one killed him. Altogether, at the Nova Music Festival, 367 young music lovers were killed. This was just one of the many attacks on neighborhoods and communities in southern Israel on that terrible day. In total, 1,200 were killed, including 45 Americans. Hersh’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. And that was 320 days ago. Anyone…can try to imagine the anguish and misery that Jon, and I, and all the hostage families are enduring.”
Jon Polin continued, “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.”
He added that the families of the eight American hostages “are heartened that both Democratic and Republican leaders demonstrate their bipartisan support for our hostages being released” and said that both President Biden and Vice President Harris are “working tirelessly for a hostage and ceasefire deal that will bring our precious children, mothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren home and will stop the despair in Gaza.”
“In our Jewish tradition, we say that ‘every person is an entire universe.’ We must save all these universes,” said Jon Polin, who added that the time for a deal is now.
Rachel concluded the remarks by turning to her son and saying, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.”