Bay Area friends, supporters hold rally for Berkeley native held hostage by Hamas
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- As ceasefire talks stall between Israel and Hamas, people rallied in Berkeley Sunday for the release of Hamas hostages.
A crowd gathered on the pedestrian overpass above I-80 near University Avenue, waving flags and holding signs for Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The 23-year-old raised in Berkeley has been held hostage for more than 10 months.
Hamas took him from the music festival on Oct. 7.
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On the overpass, others with family members held hostage told us they wanted to make sure their loved ones aren't forgotten.
A friend of the Goldberg-Polin family says they are desperate for their son to be home.
"It is beyond urgency. It's beyond acceptable that this has gone on as long as it has, and the world needs to stand up and say enough is enough," said Aaron Katler.
Goldberg-Polin's parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention this past week, getting emotional to chants of "bring them home."
The local Council on American Islamic Relations sent us this in response, saying in part:
"Everyone at every demonstration would agree, too many people have been killed. The first step toward freeing the Israeli and Palestinian individuals being held captive is an arms embargo and the next step is a permanent ceasefire. The Biden-Harris administration has the power to stop the violence and needs to do so now."
