“Bring Them Home” – Hostages, Anti-Semitism Is Front & Center At Republican National Convention 

By FrumNews.com

Milwaukee, WI — The plight of the hostages and campus anti-Semitism were front and center at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. 

Addressing the RNC were Hostage crises were Ronen and Orna Neutra of Long Island, the parents of US-Israeli citizen Omer Neutra, who was held hostage in Gaza since October 7th.

As they took the stage, the crowd chanted, “Bring them home.” 

“I came to Harvard to study religion—the foundation of Western civilization. What I found was not theology, but a contempt for it,” Kestenbaum said. “My problem with Harvard is not its liberalism, but its illiberalism. Too often, students at Harvard are taught not how to think but what to think. I found myself immersed in a culture that is anti-western, that is anti-American, and that is anti-Semitic.”

🇺🇸🇮🇱 — WATCH: RNC breaks into chants of “Bring them home” as parents of American hostage held in Gaza take the stage. pic.twitter.com/vjX1Kn65Ad

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) July 18, 2024

“Our son Omer is an American citizen for 285 long days and nights; Hamas terrorists have been holding Omer in prison in tunnels underneath Gaza,” Orna said. “Omer, which is a biblical name and means the first crop in Hebrew, is our firstborn.”

He was born in New York City,  a month after 9/11. On that day, eight months pregnant i walked over the Queensboro bridge. And here we are, 23 years later, and he is the victim of another terrorist attack. 

“He cares deeply about others and about helping them grow,” she said. “He turned 22, on October 14th, 2023,” she said. “And instead of celebrating with us and with his friends—he spent his birthday as the hostage of Hamas terrorists.”

“Imagine over nine months not knowing whether your son is alive, Orna emotionally said. “And waking up every morning, praying that he too is still waking up every morning. That he is strong and is surviving,” she added. 

Ronen asked the crowd, “Where is the outrage?” when over 1,200 people were slaughtered on October 7th, which included 45 American citizens.

“This was not merely an attack on Israel. This was, and remains, an attack on Americans,” Ronen said. 

Ronen said Trump called them personally right after October 7th, when Omer was taken captive. 

“We know he stands with American hostages,” Ronen said. “We need our beautiful son back, and we need your support.”

“American values are Jewish values and Jewish values are American values”

Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Frum activist and a “lifelong Jewish Democrat” (as he said of himself), also addressed the convention. 

Shabbos is one of six Jewish students who are suing Harvard University for discrimination after anti-Semitic protests rocked the campus following the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. 

“After October 7th, the world finally saw what I and so many Jewish students across this country experienced almost every day,” he said at the convention. “The anti-Semitic bigotry unfortunately extends far beyond the universities. Although I once voted for Bernie Sanders, I now recognize that the far left has not only abandoned the Jewish people but the American people.”

During his speech, he spoke about setting up 1,200 American and Israeli flags in memoriam for those murdered by Hamas on October 7th, which he said were vandalized within 24 hours, receiving death threats online, and the backlash Harvard received for its comments after the Hamas massacre in Israel.

“I am proud to support President Trump’s policies to expel foreign students who violate our laws, harass our Jewish classmates, and desecrate our freedoms.”

“Let’s elect a president who recognizes that although Harvard and the Ivy League have long abandoned the United States of America, the Jewish people never will. Because Jewish values are American values, and American values are Jewish values.”

🇺🇸✡️ — WATCH: Jewish activist @ShabbosK speaking at the RNC tonight. pic.twitter.com/KzczwjPHXN

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) July 18, 2024