FOR FREE PEOPLE

FOR FREE PEOPLE

On Wednesday evening, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin came to the Democratic convention, and for eight minutes and forty-four seconds, the politics stopped.
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is being held hostage by Hamas. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The Most Powerful Moment of the DNC

The parents of a young man held hostage by Hamas stepped onto the stage. And for a moment, the politics stopped.

This piece was first published in our news digest, The Front Page. To get our latest scoops, investigations, and columns in your inbox every morning, Monday through Thursday, become a Free Press subscriber today:

Subscribe now

On Wednesday evening, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin came to the Democratic convention, and for eight minutes and forty-four seconds, the politics stopped.

“This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue,” Jon Polin, Hersh’s father, declared, eliciting sustained applause. 

Both Polin and his wife, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, had attached a strip of masking tape to their shirts with the number 320 on it—indicating that the hostages have been in captivity for 320 days.

“We’re heartened that both Democratic and Republican leaders demonstrate their bipartisan support for our hostages being released,” Jon Polin said.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin talked about the “109 treasured human beings” being held hostage, adding, “They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. They are from twenty-three different countries.”

Delegates wept and nodded along and murmured, “Oh, my God,” and “That poor, poor boy,” as images of Hersh, 23, appeared on the jumbo screen behind his parents—smiling and suntanned. In between bursts of applause, they chanted, “Bring them home! Bring them home!” Almost all of the tens of thousands of people crammed into the United Center stood silent.

There were no boos, no one waving any Palestinian flags. No one talked about “cease-fires.” If the left has been consumed by a mystifying moral relativism over the past few decades, there was none of that on Wednesday. There was just a tearful couple onstage doing what parents everywhere, anywhere, would do.

It was the most powerful moment, so far, of the week—and it echoed similar speeches given at last month’s Republican convention, in Milwaukee. It was also a reminder that the great bulk of Democrats are sympathetic to the plight of the Jews murdered and raped and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023—the antisemitism that seems to have engulfed much of the left notwithstanding.

As they were about to exit the stage, Rachel Goldberg-Polin leaned into the microphone and said: “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.”

Peter Savodnik is a senior editor for The Free Press. Read his piece “A Vanishing Biden Reappears at the DNC” and follow him on X @petersavodnik.

our Comments

Use common sense here: disagree, debate, but don't be a .

the fp logo
comment bg

Welcome to The FP Community!

Our comments are an editorial product for our readers to have smart, thoughtful conversations and debates — the sort we need more of in America today. The sort of debate we love.   

We have standards in our comments section just as we do in our journalism. If you’re being a jerk, we might delete that one. And if you’re being a jerk for a long time, we might remove you from the comments section. 

Common Sense was our original name, so please use some when posting. Here are some guidelines:

  • We have a simple rule for all Free Press staff: act online the way you act in real life. We think that’s a good rule for everyone.
  • We drop an occasional F-bomb ourselves, but try to keep your profanities in check. We’re proud to have Free Press readers of every age, and we want to model good behavior for them. (Hello to Intern Julia!)
  • Speaking of obscenities, don’t hurl them at each other. Harassment, threats, and derogatory comments that derail productive conversation are a hard no.
  • Criticizing and wrestling with what you read here is great. Our rule of thumb is that smart people debate ideas, dumb people debate identity. So keep it classy. 
  • Don’t spam, solicit, or advertise here. Submit your recommendations to tips@thefp.com if you really think our audience needs to hear about it.
Close Guidelines

Latest