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Family members of an Israeli-American being held by militant groups in Gaza addressed the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, while Arab Americans continue attempts to be included in the gathering.
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg walked out to applause from the thousands of delegates gathered at the Union Centre in Chicago, Illinois, before they pleaded for a ceasefire and hostage release.
“There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East,” Mr Polin said. “In a competition of pain, there are no winners.”
The couple discussed the difficulty of awaiting release of their 23-year-old son, Hersh, along with the eight other Americans also held hostage. The audience started chants of “Bring them home”.
Hersh was at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 when the deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel took place, taking the lives of 1,200 people.
"We live on another planet. Anyone who is a parent ... can try to imagine the anguish and misery that Jon and I and all the hostage families are enduring," Ms Goldberg said.
“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,” Mr Polin said.
The couple, who attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress in July and withheld applause there, told of how the families of American hostages meet in Washington every couple weeks.
They commended efforts for a hostage and ceasefire deal by the US administration under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic nominee.
The US has been working with allies and regional partners to push for a Gaza truce and hostage deal this week.
Health authorities in Gaza report that more than 40,200 people have been killed while Israel conducts military operations and a humanitarian crisis worsens in the Palestinian enclave.
“In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region: a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. The time is now,” Mr Polin said.
The “uncommitted” voter movement said earlier that it “strongly” supported having the Goldberg-Polins speak, but urged the inclusion of an Arab-American voice in the convention, which is ending on Thursday.
“We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948,” it said in a statement.
The group earlier worried that “time is running out” to bring a community member to the main prime-time stage.
“We have made the request that a Palestinian American speak from this stage,” Michigan uncommitted delegate Abbas Alawieh told reporters.
“We made it clear to President Harris's close advisers, we made it clear to top leaders at the Democratic National Convention, we've been making that ask.
“We made it on Monday. We made it on Tuesday. We made it on Wednesday. Time is running out.
“I've been calling these same folks all day.”
The movement formed during the Democratic primary season to show frustration with the Biden administration's staunch support for Israel amid its war in Gaza by voting “uncommitted” or leaving ballots blank.
The votes were a way to express support for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
The movement has also called for a meeting with Ms Harris on her plans for Gaza.
“We're asking Vice President Harris to let us know how she plans to turn the page, because it's of critical importance to the majority of Democratic voters who are with us,” Mr Alawieh said.
“The majority of Democratic voters want a permanent and immediate ceasefire that stops the bombing and, very importantly, reunites all Israeli and all Palestinian hostages and captives with their families.”
