“The release of Hamas hostages is not a political issue, it is a humanitarian issue,” he added. That was the message from John Paul and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg Paulin, who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 at the Nova Festival, in a dramatic testimony before the Democratic Convention in Chicago. The couple took the stage to chants of “Bring them home” and a standing ovation from the United Center, so strong that the 23-year-old Israeli-American’s mother was unable to contain her emotions and collapsed on the podium before he could speak.

“Hirsch, if you’re listening to us right now, know that we love you, try to be strong, and survive,” Rachel told her son, who lost part of his left arm in the attack and was last seen alive in a Hamas video in April. The family of Pauline Goldberg, who wore a sticker with the number 320 to mark her son’s days in prison, then thanked the bipartisan support in Congress and the “unwavering work” of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to end the suffering of the Palestinians and free the hostages. In the race to see who suffers the most, there will be no winners,” was the heartfelt plea from John and Rachel.

Their intervention gave an emotional and human face to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a sensitive issue for Democrats and Harris, who must contend with mounting pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters and from unaffiliated and non-aligned delegates who announced yesterday that they were staging a sit-in protest outside the convention. Throughout the event, the movement tried to convince other delegates to sign their petition for a ceasefire in Gaza. “We call on the Democratic Party to reject the hierarchy of human values ​​and ensure that Palestinian voices are also heard on the main stage,” they demanded.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also joined the call, emphasizing in a post about the story that it means participating in the dehumanization of Palestinians.