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One Killed, Three Wounded In Synagogue Shooting; Raids Across Sri Lanka Aimed At Rooting Out Terrorists; Zarif: External Parties Pushing U.S.-Iran Conflict; Gunman Opens Fire At Synagogue On Last Day Of Passover; Country Already Reeling Hit By Its Strongest Recorded Storm; High Turnout As Voters Choose Between Old And New Parties. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 28, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A very warm welcome. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me Becky Anderson live from CNN
Middle East programming hub here in Abu Dhabi. Well, the room should have been filled with sounds of prayer, music, silent contemplation. Instead,
shots rang out in a Californian synagogue on Saturday killing one person and wounding three more, another deadly attack targeting a place of
worship.
Well, it comes just one week after horrific bombings in Sri Lanka targeted churches, one month after shootings killed 50 at two mosques in New
Zealand, and exactly six months after The Tree of Life massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. We are now hearing more about the victim of this
latest attack. 60-year-old Lori Kaye was reportedly -- killed after reportedly stepping between the gunman and a wounded rabbi.
Well, the shooting came as Jews were marking the last day of Passover, one of the holiest Jewish celebrations of the year. Officials say a 19-year-
old suspect is in custody on one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. He purportedly wrote a manifesto referencing par
shootings and claiming responsibility for arson at California mosque.
Let's bring in Nick Watt who is in Poway in California, the city at the center of that horrific attack. Nick?
NICK WAT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I want to first talk about the victims here. As you mentioned, one woman was killed, Lori Kaye. She was
60 years old. She leaves behind a 22-year-old daughter. And as you say, we are hearing reports that she tried to get herself in between the shooter
and the rabbi who had already been hit.
He told NBC News a little earlier today that his fingers were blown off, that he'd heard a noise he turned, he was face to face with the gunman.
Lori Kay as I say was shot inside that synagogue. Now, her husband was also at the service and he saw someone had been hit. He ran to give that
person help. He was administering CPR not knowing it was his wife. When he realized, apparently he fainted.
Now, two other people were also injured, a young girl and her uncle. And that young girl Noya Dahan was just nine years old, and her family actually
moved here to California from Sderot in Israel which we know has in the past been the target of some rockets coming over from Gaza. That's why the
family moved to California for they thought a quieter, safer life.
They lived in another town here near here and had swastikas daubed on their house so they moved here to Poway never thinking that this could happen
here. Now that little girl and her sisters are apparently telling their father that they don't want to be here anymore. They don't think it's
safe. Becky?
ANDERSON: Yes. Nick, not that he deserves the oxygen of publicity, but what do we know about the shooter?
WATT: Well, he was a 19-year-old college student. And as you say he posted this open letter on the internet that authorities are still trying
to authenticate and validate. But in that, he described in great detail his disdain for Jews, his plan to kill Jews. He didn't actually mention
this town by name. He also -- there's a similarity in the structure of that open letter to the manifesto that was published by that shooter in
Christchurch, New Zealand.
So authorities are looking into that now. And also in that letter, he claims responsibility for an arson attack about a month ago at a mosque
here in California, and authorities are looking into that as well. Now, we're told that he was armed with an assault rifle and people inside the
synagogue say that that rifle actually jammed.
And if it hadn't jammed, there could have been many, many more fatalities. He fled and there was a Border Patrol officer, an off-duty Border Patrol
officer who was in the synagogue who managed to get a couple of rounds off, hit the guy's car as he was leaving. The gunman then apparently dialed --
called 911, called authorities, told them it was him, told him where he was, and a K-9 officer was actually on his way to this scene apprehended
him. The gunman got out, hands up, gave himself up.
He is now in jail. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. Becky?
ANDERSON: Nick Watt is in California for you. Thank you, Nick. Well, Israelis expressing their solidarity with the victims of the shooting in
California. CNN's Oren Liebermann has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The shooting at the Chabad synagogue happened just as Sabbath was ending in Israel. After a day of rest, a day
marked by peace and often tranquility, the Jewish community here came to the news from California and it was a sharp reminder of another shooting
six months ago, the Pittsburgh shooting. That too happened just as the Sabbath was ending here, and what a painful way to end it.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin condemned the shooting and said the country's thoughts and prayers are with the family of Lori Gilbert-Kaye.
In a statement Sunday morning, the president said, the murderous attack on the Jewish community during Pesach, our holiday of freedom and just before
Holocaust Memorial Day is yet another painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still with us everywhere. No country and no society
are immune.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said I condemn the criminal attack in the synagogue in California. It is a strike into the heart of
the Jewish people. The international community should intensify the battle against anti-Semitism.
Netanyahu also said he would convene a special discussion this week with those who work to fight anti-Semitism around the world in the wake of this
latest shooting. Oren Liebermann, CNN Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:05:58] ANDERSON: Well, that shooting of course in California comes on the heels of the deadly Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. The danger isn't
over yet. Police warning lawmakers there could be more attacks to come. This is the nation marks one week since more than 250 people were killed in
the blast targeting churches and hotels.
Vigils are taking place across the country and the Archbishop of Colombo held Sunday Mass in his home after suspending services at Catholic churches
across the country due to security concerns. Well, meanwhile, security forces have been carrying out raids and making arrests. CNN's Sam Kiley
visited the scene of a rage that turned deadly. And a warning, some of the video in his report is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A moment of grim triumph for Sri Lanka's forces. Mohamed Niyas directly connected to the
Easter massacres in the capital lies dead. Gunned down in a Street battle in the far east of the country where the terror group first put down roots.
He died alongside five other suspected terrorists in three blasts in an inferno taking nine civilians with them, three women and six children.
Another woman was caught in the crossfire. Police believe they were members of the suspected terrorist family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Believed to be perhaps the relatives or maybe some of the people, civilians.
KILEY: The suspected terrorists were indeed bound by family ties. Niyas' brother-in-law Hashim was the spiritual leader of the group and he attacked
the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo with a suicide bomb on Easter Sunday. Authorities had warned that more terrorists were on the loose after the
attacks last week that killed more than 250.
This room is still hot from the fire caused by what the military say was an explosion of a suicide bombers motorcycle. Inside the room, there are the
charred remains of what appear to be children, possibly some adults. It's a charnel-house.
Last weekend, churches and mosques were told not to hold services while Sri Lankan forces sought out more members of Hashim's group which he started in
nearby Kattankudy. All the local villages were evacuated to a school for their own safety.
It was this Muslim community that delivered the terrorists into the hands of the police, and they will remain critical to this country's fight
against terrorism.
The terrorists rented the house where they died only two days before the Easter bombings. He says they took the house for rent on the 18th and left
in a couple of days, and they came back yesterday with more people nearly eight, and the landlord became suspicious.
They'd arrive just hours after Sri Lankan authorities found a staggering amount of explosives and bomb-making material in a lockup about three miles
away. 150 sticks of gelignite explosive, 100,000 ball bearings. Islamic state flags and the uniforms police suspect were used by the terror group
in videos before the Easter attacks.
Proof that those Eastern massacres were by no means the only mass killings the ISIS gang had planned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Sam is joining me now from Sri Lanka. Currently, Sam, you are on the road to Colombo. As authorities gather more intelligence, what
are they telling you about their continued concerns?
KILEY: Well, we know, Becky -- and in fact the reason I'm on the road and not back in Batticaloa, the town that the Zion Church were -- was bombed
last week and indeed where we've been conducting those investigations to follow us to the police operation is precisely because as far as the
briefings coming out of the intelligence community here, two ministers that have been leaked to CNN, there is an active threat to a tourist sites
around the country and in particular Batticaloa.
[11:10:20] So it is for that reason that we have exercise degree of caution and now hit the road. But it just indicates, Becky, that there is by no
means an end for this terror campaign. The individuals that we were reporting on there in that report, they've actually published today a video
that the police tell us was shot in the moment the brief -- the moments that both police closed in on them before they killed themselves and their
own families.
And even -- the striking thing here, Becky, it's almost a family business. They were the key brothers and the father of a man called Zahran Hashim who
is the spiritual leader of this group himself a suicide bomber last Easter. And CNN was able to confirm -- there's been a conversation we had recently
with his sister. This is what she told us and we are of course hiding her identity because she fears retribution for talking to us. This is what she
said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED HASHIM MATHANIYA, SISTER OF ZAHRAN HASHIM (through translator): I saw Friday's incident in the news in the morning. It didn't hit me until I
saw the bodies of the men and women. When they said, six children, I thought whether they could be the people related to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Now, Becky, the issue here clearly is this is a sort of group that is prepared to murder their own children. They represent an even greater
threat to other communities, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes. Sam is on the road towards Colombo in Sri Lanka. Sam, thank you. We've been connecting you so far this hour as we see more and
more attacks on places that people go to pray and find a peace, from that bombing campaign in Sri Lanka to the massacres New Zealand and in the
United States.
So later on, I'm going to bring in a panel to look at why this is and if armed security that's being discussed in the states really can be part of
the solution. Well, people in Spain voting today in a closely watched election. One party hoping to carry its momentum to the polls despite
accusations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The rise of Spain's Vox party coming up.
And he has something to say and he knows who to talk to. Hear what the message is from the Iranian Foreign Minister sending to the U.S. President
whether it can fall on deaf ear.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00] ANDERSON: Well, if you had important message for the President of the United States, how would you deliver it? On Fox News, of course, at
least that's what the Iranian Foreign Minister did. Mohammad Javad Zarif told Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace that Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE,
and John Bolton all have one thing in common. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER, IRAN: They have all shown an interest in dragging the United States into a conflict. I do not
believe that President Trump wants to do that. I believe President Trump ran on a campaign promise of nothing -- bringing the United States into
another war. But I believe President Trump's intention to put pressure the policy of maximum pressure on Iran in order to bring Iran to its knees so
that we would succumb to pressure is doomed to failure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Iran's P.R. initiative, if that's what you want to call it comes after U.S. sanctions started cutting even deeper Trump's team,
stopped offering waivers that had allowed a few countries to continue buying Iranian oil. There is no sign that Zarif's media blitz will change
Donald Trump's mind.
Ali Vaez is the Director of the Iran Project at the non-profit Crisis Group. If that is the case, what will Iran do next?
ALI VAEZ, DIRECTOR, IRAN PROJECT, CRISIS GROUP: Becky, I think Foreign Minister Zarif had an audience of one today. He wanted to basically signal
to President Trump his foreign policy and national security team don't share the President's primary objective here which is to get a better deal
with Iran.
What they want is regime change and potentially a bloody nose operation against Iran which could drag the U.S. and another unwanted war of choice
in the Middle East.
ANDERSON: Well, you say -- you know -- and you've written that the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign against Iran in your words is
not more likely to fuel resistance and retaliation than capitulation. And you say Washington should heed past lessons lest it provokes a new nuclear
crisis or a regional escalation.
Ali, the point is with no sign that Tehran is prepared to rein in its regional expansionism, what choice does the U.S. and indeed U.S. allies in
this region have but to double down?
VAEZ: Look, Becky, there is a precedent here which is the nuclear deal itself. When the U.S. used effectively carrots and sticks in order to get
Iran to the negotiating table and agreed to a win-win solution.
Past has basically shown us that if you pursue maximalist demands with the Iranians, Iranians would only double down on doing things that they believe
is necessary for protecting themselves including protecting proxies and supporting allies in the region to deter the U.S. and its allies from
striking Iran on its soil, and also doubling down on their ballistic missile program that they also feel is their only viable and reliable
deterrent.
So what I'm saying in the article is basically that if the Trump administration wants actually to deal with Iran, it has to first of all
step away from maximalist demands that would basically amount to surrender on the Iranian side and also make clear that they could be trusted.
Why would the Iranians get into another deal with the U.S. when there was already a deal, existing deal, the nuclear deal that the Trump
administration has violated and stepped away from and has encouraged other countries also to violate the agreement. Why should the Iranians trust the
Trump administration?
ANDERSON: And U.S. allies in this region who see Tehran on this sort of regional expansionist will say why should they trust Tehran? Let me put
this to you. Zarif also spoke to CBS, another American network. What he told them could be considered ominous. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARIF: I don't think a military confrontation will happen. I think people have more prudence than allowing a military confrontation to happen. But I
think the U.S. administration is putting things in place for accidents to happen. And there has to be extreme vigilance so that people who are
planning this type of accident would not have their way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:20:21] ANDERSON: Ali, how likely is the possibility of a "accidents" and what would that look like? Well, unfortunately it's quite likely
because there is so much friction between the U.S. and Iran and their respective allies in the region you know, from the Persian Gulf and the
Strait of Hormuz, to Yemen where Iranian back to Houthis can decide on their own to fire a missile into a civilian center in Saudi Arabia or the
UAE that results in significant fatalities, to Syria where Iran and Israel are engaged in a rivalry around the Golan Heights.
VAEZ: There are many, many places where even inadvertently the two sides can get into a clash. And I think the fact that the clock is ticking very
quickly here in Washington where we're only a year and a half away from the elections and the maximum pressure campaign has really not produced any
tangible results for this Trump administration that there are a lot of people in this city and their allies in the region in Saudi Arabia Israel
and the UAE who would welcome some kind of a bloody nose operation that would cut Iran down to size and would basically restore deterrence against
Iran.
So that's the risk that we're facing at the moment. And that's the messaging that the Trump administration is trying to put aside.
ANDERSON: We started this -- right. And we started this conversation by you suggesting that he had an audience of one. If by appearing on Fox
Zarif' wants to speak directly to Donald Trump and drive a wedge between him and his advisers on Iran, on Pompeo, Bolton, and allies in this region,
I mean, he speaks people here and they will say he will likely fail.
You also say there's no guarantee that a Pax Americana emerges from the ruins of the Iranian economy. Let's just be clear, I mean, these sanctions
have been swinging and the Iranian economy is suffering. But what is the solution here?
VAEZ: Look, there is no doubt that sanctions have inflicted enormous economic harm on Iran. But have they produced the results that the Trump
administration was looking for? As you mentioned, there is no sign of change in Iran's regional policy, there's no existential threat against the
regime on the streets in Iran, and also there is no preparedness on the Iranian side to come back to the negotiating table and to accept the
conditions that the Trump administration has put on the table.
So I think again, if passed this prelude, we have to step back from the brink and accept that the best way forward is for the Trump administration
to basically reach out to the Iranians the same way that the Obama administration did and make the first confidence-building step of actually
conceding something to the Iranians.
And I think the most important thing here would be a signal that they're prepared to come back to the existing agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal of
2015.
ANDERSON: Which I think we would agree is quite unlikely at this point. Ali, thank you. Ali Vaez is in Washington at the Iran Project at the
Crisis Group connecting us through some of this with fantastic insight. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining.
Well, turning to a course record smashed at the London Marathon. It was set by Eliud Kipchoge as he claimed the win in the men's race. Fellow
Kenyan Brigid Kosgei finished first in the women's race. World Sports Don Riddell joining you now from Atlanta with the details. We are looking at
some pretty impressive timings today. good results.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Pretty impressive, that's one way of putting it. How about the record in the London Marathon and the second fastest
time ever in any marathon. It was quite extraordinary to see, Becky, 26.2 miles, I don't have to tell you, is a very, very long way and Kipchoge a
finished the race off looking like he was just strolling down to the shops for a pint of milk.
I mean, it was absolute extraordinary. The time, two hours, two minutes, and 37 seconds which is just over a minute slower than the world record
which he actually said himself in the Berlin Marathon last year. Very, very impressive, it is his fourth victory at the London Marathon. That is
also a record so very much his day. Incredible to see.
I've actually run the London Marathon a few years ago it. It pays me to see how fast it can be done because I actually run over Tower Bridge once
with Haile Gebrselassie at his pace, and I could only last the distance of the Tower Bridge. These guys are just superhuman. It is really quite
incredible.
[11:25:05] ANDERSON: I remember -- I remember when you did it. It was pretty impressive fun from you I seem to remember, but not as --
RIDDELL: It was just over four hours. I'm happy --
ANDERSON: I was going to say, just over four hours wasn't bad, no. Come on, not bad. Listen, we we're hearing about a controversy. I run a half
marathon in Italy, meantime. What do you know about that?
RIDDELL: Yes. This is quite extraordinary. As the Trieste Half Marathon which is taking place next month May the 5th, I think. And the organizers
had planned not to allow any African athletes to run in it. They said that the race was only open to Europeans. As you would imagine, there has been
an enormous outcry about this.
I'll give you a quote from the La Republica newspaper. Race organizer Fabio Carini, this was their justification. He said, this year we have
decided only to take European athletes to make the point that measures must be taken to regulate what is currently a trade in high-value African
athletes.
Well, as I say, there has been a huge backlash about that. The race organizers have now had to backpedal and change their tune. Italian
politicians have got involved. A lot of people were campaigning the race organizers or rather the sponsors of the event to back out.
One tweet said not even Hitler succeeded in banning African athletes, so an extraordinary situation. And unfortunately for Italian sport coming off
you know, on the heels of some very high-profile racist abuse incidents at Italian football stadium, so not a good time for Italian sport.
ANDERSON: Yes. Don Riddell, sports genius and tidy marathon runner, thank you.
RIDDELL: Thank you.
ANDERSON: You should watch our World Sport next hour for more on all of these stories. Thanks, Don. But before that, there is a lot more from us
on CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. The recent attacks on houses of worship show that religious intolerance around the world is on the rise. But why
and why now? We'll speak to one religious leader about the uptick in hate crimes after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:56] ANDERSON: Well, I get you back to our top story this hour, violence strikes again at a house of worship. A 19-year-old this time in
custody, after opening fire at a California synagogue on Saturday, the last day of Passover.
One person was killed, several others were wounded, including a 9-year-old girl. Well, tragically, there have been a number of high-profile attacks,
as you are well aware at places of worship this year alone.
Saturday's attack comes exactly six months after a mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 11 people killed there.
And in March three, historically, African-American churches burned in Louisiana.
Just last week, church bombings in Sri Lanka killed hundreds of people celebrating the Easter holiday. And of course, last month, the government
targeted mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand, killing and wounding dozens.
Well, we're joining us now from New York is CNN's political analyst Julian Zelizer, and Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, the senior rabbi of Temple Shaaray
Tefila. And let me with you, Rabbi Moss Baca if I can.
Firstly, condolences. We extend our heartfelt condolences from this region on this latest attack.
RABBI JOEL MOSBACHER, SENIOR RABBI, TEMPLE SHAARAY TEFILA: Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: According to the FBI, sir, reported hate crimes are on the rise in America following 2008 U.S. saw a steady decline in these types of
crimes, but they began to rise again after 2014. Why do you believe that is? Have you got an explanation?
MOSBACHER: I wish I had an explanation. What I know for sure is that our hearts are with the family of Lori Gilbert Kaye today, and with all of the
Jewish community. And I've heard from religious leaders from around the city, Christians, and Muslims who have expressed their condolences to the
Jewish community.
And I can't explain this outrage or this rise in hate, but what I do know is that leaders of faith and national leaders as well can come together and
decry this kind of hate. Because we know that attacks against Jews or attacks against Christians and Muslims as well and similarly attacks
against any people of faith are an attack against all humanity.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Julian, to you, after last year's massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, President Trump's suggested that synagogues should
hire armed guards. In an article for The Atlantic, recently you wrote and I quote, "Rather than militarizing prayer, Trump should demilitarize his
rhetoric. His language has been a kind of ammunition."
I know you aren't suggesting Donald Trump is responsible for the uptick in this violence, but to steal a line from another president, Bill Clinton
that you have quoted recently after -- from back in 1995, "Words have consequences to pretend that they do not is idols." Correct?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think the kind of rhetoric we've seen coming certainly from the White House and other parts of
politics has been quite toxic, and you know, you don't control that language once it's out whatever the intentions are.
And we know there's white nationalist organizations in the United States, we know there's lone wolf's, we're following this on social media. And I
think, you know, the president uses this kind of rhetoric but doesn't think about the responsibility of the bully pulpit. And so, there is a danger in
putting it out there.
And there's also a policy a challenge. There has been a cut in funding for efforts to curtail white nationalist organizations here in the United
States to initiate efforts against them and on both fronts, you know, President Trump really needs to think hard about what he's been doing.
ANDERSON: Rabbi Mosbacher, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S. has condemned this latest synagogue shooting, and has expressed
solidarity with the Jewish community. CAIR releasing a statement saying and I quote, "We renew our commitment to work together against this
disturbing trend of attacks on houses of worship, which should be sanctuaries for work worshippers."
Those words echoed by Muslims across social media today is often as we report on these platforms contributing to the spread of hate and violence,
and we are right to do so. So, do you agree it is important to acknowledge how these platforms can be used as a force for good as we are seeing at
present?
[11:35:37] MOSBACHER: It is absolutely critically important. And it's what makes this moment, something that could be scary and something that
could only incite hatred between peoples of faith. But gives us the opportunity to do what our national leaders need to do which is to join
together and to decry these events wherever they take place.
Those words from the Islamic community are deeply heartening. And our religious movement as well, unfortunately, as we know in recent weeks has
made similar overtures to Christian and Muslim communities after similar kinds of attacks.
I've said to my religious cohort as well who've reached out to me, we need to stop getting so, we need to stop doing this. We need to stop having to
be there for each other. But as long as these attacks take place, we will stand together.
ANDERSON: Julian, you talked about the growing threat of white internationalism. Would you explain what you mean by that?
ZELIZER: Yes, I mean that's a term -- I think, I said it in response to when President Trump said that white nationalism -- I don't remember his
exact words, but wasn't a growing threat. And I think we've seen now globally the incarnation of a similar kind of politics, different contexts,
but a white nationalism that is playing out in response to globalization, in response to immigration around the globe.
In response to different kinds of religious institutions. That is a significant danger, and it will entail more in the U.S. government dealing
with this, or even what religious leaders can do. It is in some ways a global threat that requires a global response. And I think, it's a mistake
to underestimate the kind of damage that this can do. And we've seen what it can inflict at many horrific moments such as the one yesterday and the
many others you just described.
ANDERSON: Finally, Rabbi Mosbacher, if you had one message to the international community today who will be watching this show, it is what?
MOSBACHER: Well, as Jews, we are now approaching Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Memorial Day. And we are at turn -- at a turning point. We, as Jews know
what it feels like to stand alone in moments like this, and we -- the international community has a choice to make, will we stand together
against acts of hate, racism, and anti-Semitism of all kinds, or will we stand silently?
We know what it is like to stand alone. And we pray and hope and we'll work every single day to build connections with peoples of all faiths and
no faith at all to stand against hate. And we hope the international community will join with us.
ANDERSON: Rabbi Joel Mosbacher in New York, and Julian Zelizer, regular guests on this show, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Live from Abu Dhabi, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, we are seeing devastating images from Mozambique. Once again, the
country ravaged by its second cyclone in two month. We're going to get you the details on the recovery process that is starting over anew. That after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:41:12] ANDERSON: Well, the deadliest followed by the strongest. First Tropical Cyclone Idai, now, Kenneth. And the people of Mozambique must
start rebuilding for the second time in as many months. These aerial images give you a sense of Kenneth's devastation. It's displaced more than
18,000 people.
But here is a closer look at just one of them. This man gives a tour of what is left of his village. Homes and shops completely razed. Rick
Folbaum has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK FOLBAUM, CNN ANCHOR: For the second time in six weeks, Mozambique is wallowing in water after a powerful storm blew across its borders. Cyclone
Kenneth with winds gusting at 280 kilometers an hour made landfall on Thursday. But officials say more rain, and with it, more misery is on the
way.
DANIEL TIMME, UNICEF MOZAMBIQUE: And we expecting major flooding in the end of the rainy season now because the rivers are already swollen and the
soil is just saturated.
FOLBAUM: More than 30,000 people from high-risk areas have already evacuated according to the U.N. Officials are advising others to move to
higher ground. As the lingering rains which could last through Monday posed new threats to areas already devastated by the initial impact of the
storm.
TIMME: Houses are destroyed, thousands of people again are in temporary shelters, and school buildings and churches that have not been untouched,
and now they need again urgent assistance.
FOLBAUM: Aid agencies we're already struggling to keep up with the demand for food, water, and medicine in Southern Africa after Cyclone Idai hit the
region in March, killing hundreds of people. Entire cities in Mozambique were cut off and the country is still reeling from a cholera outbreak, and
the loss of vital crops. Officials worry the new storm might strain the system.
JENS LAERKE, SPOKESPERSON FOR UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN OFFICE: Cyclone Kenneth may require a major new humanitarian operation, at the same time
that the ongoing Cyclone Idai responds targeting 3 million people in three countries remain critically underfunded.
FOLBAUM: A need for help that could continue to grow in a country that is already weary from weathering the storms. Rick Folbaum, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We get you back to our top story this hour. And the world, of course, as you are well aware, reacting to the hate, fuel the violence that
we have seen in a synagogue in California.
CNN's Oren Liebermann is back with us in Jerusalem, where he is just spoken with a close relative of some of the people who survived and witnessed that
shooting. Oren, who did you speak to, and what did they have to say?
LIEBERMANN: Becky, we just returned from the city of Sderot, on the Gaza border. That is where the family of Almog Peretz is from. Almog Peretz
was one of those injured in the shooting. He was lightly injured in the leg when a bullet entered his leg.
We spoke with his family and found out that he was visiting his sister there. His sister had left the town of Sderot, this town right in the Gaza
border that's often under threat of mortar or rocket fire from Gaza. And after growing tired of that threat, they went to San Diego to find a better
safer life.
And it is there that they came into the synagogue at the end of Passover. And then, into that synagogue on the Sabbath, where that shooting happened.
Just as we returned to the office, we spoke with Almog Peretz, himself. He again is the one who was injured in that shooting, as well as his niece,
Noya Dahan.
He was inside the synagogue, he tells us when he heard something loud behind him, he thought it was a gunshot, he turned to look, and that was
when the gunman turned towards him. He said, the gunman stood in the doorway, pointed the gun at him stood there calmly, like a sniper, he said
and shot like a sniper.
Peretz, he says gathered a girl who was with him, ran towards the back of the dining room opened an emergency exit and told all of the kids to get
out and go right nearby to the house of the son of the rabbi there. And that is how he got the kids out. He realized at that point, there was
somebody missing from the group of girls he was with, his niece. He went back inside the synagogue to find his niece, at that point the shooter had
already left. His niece had been hiding in the bathroom all that time.
In terms of Peretz's condition, he remains in the hospital. He's trying to figure out whether he's going into surgery to remove the bullet from his
leg or whether he'll simply be released with a bullet in his leg. He says, his spirits are in pretty good shape at this point. Especially, given what
he went through.
His niece who was injured from shrapnel, a slight injury to the face, as well as a cut to the leg has already been released. She too obviously, is
suffering from after having gone through what happened to that synagogue yesterday.
The horrific shooting there. But Peretz himself says, he's doing all right, his family says they're trying to recover, trying to sort of cope
with what happened here, and trying to get visas as soon as possible to visit Almog Peretz.
His niece, which is the granddaughter of those we spoke within Sderot, as well as the entire family there. Because they say at times like this, the
family needs to be together.
[11:46:14] ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Oren, thank you for that. Oren Liebermann is in -- back in the Jerusalem bureau for you.
Coming up, Spain, the latest western country to see a growing nationalist movement. The ultra-conservative Vox party, promising to make Spain great
again. Sound's familiar. Well, today's election could shift the balance of power. That's next.
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ANDERSON: Well, vote to turn out high so far in Spain's general election, and what could be a bellwether of generational change. A government
spokesman says the turnout is the second highest in the history of Spanish democracy. A remarkable development given that this is the country's third
election in four years.
Spain the only country in Western Europe that has never been governed by coalition government. But that could change after today. For the first
time in decades, a nationalist right-wing party could win several seats in parliament. CNN's Isa Soares traveled one area where that movement is
gaining ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Crammed between the sea and the Andalusia Mountains, and as far as the eye can see is a shimmering
white city draped in plastic. This is El Ejido in southern Spain. And here, produce is king.
With each plastic greenhouse growing much of Europe's fruit and vegetables, from peppers, to (INAUDIBLE), tomatoes to (INAUDIBLE), to (INAUDIBLE). But
the most important seeds sprouting here isn't produced, but a political party.
Vox is Spain's first selected far-right party since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. And its entry is already shaking up the
political landscape. I meet Vox's local candidate. Last year they won nearly 30 percent of the vote in region elections here in El Ejido.
With the pledge of national unity, to put a stop to corruption and illegal immigration.
[11:50:29] JUAN JOSE BONILLA, VOX PARTY CANDIDATE, EL EJIDO (through translator): I'm 42 years old, and I grew up in El Ejido. I was born in a
little. I've run up and down this town. Today, we don't dare let our children do the same. There's no safety, there are robberies, rapes,
there's a lot of crime.
SOARES: (INAUDIBLE). Who do you blame, migrants?
BONILLA (through translator): Yes, Spanish people committing crimes, and migrants commit crimes, the majority are migrants.
SOARES: But a walk through El Ejido shows how much this region is dependent on seasonal labor, mostly carried up by migrants from North
Africa.
What VOX has been able to do in southern Spain is exploit voter frustration. In particular, the question of immigration. While the number
of migrants coming in from across the Mediterranean have in fact fallen, Spain has become one of the main entry points for migrants with roughly
63,000 arriving in Andalusia last year alone.
But while they're needed here, the culture differences make many Spaniards feel uneasy. Despite this, I struggle to find anyone who will openly
acknowledge their VOX supporters.
This woman tells me, "People want to change. They want to change and to try to something new. But unconsciously, they did no vote Vox's.
"We're fed up of so many migrants," tells me this lady. "They come without paperwork. They do what they want, what they feel like. We're very tired
of them," she says.
Across Spain, Vox has been derided as far-right populist, anti-Islam, and anti-immigration. In fact, its leader, Santiago Abascal, is borrowing from
President Trump's book.
Your leader says he wants to build the wall in the border -- Spain's border with Morocco. And he wants Morocco to pay for that wall. Do you believe
that?
BONILLA (through translator): I don't care if the wall is made of brick, steel, or wire. We want is to close the door so that migrants don't flood
Spain. Because Spanish people cannot stand that flood of migrants.
SOARES: While their message may seem unfiltered, it is one that is resonating with many Spaniards, who feel abandoned as well as betrayed by
Spain's main political parties.
Isa Soares, CNN, El Ejido, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: While the polls are open in Spain for just about two more hours, let's dig deeper on these elections. Journalist Sara Canals joins me now
live from -- via Skype from Barcelona. A pivotal election, Sara. How do you explain the rise in support for this party? And is it fair to draw
comparisons with other European populist parties and with, for example, Donald Trump on this issue?
SARA CANALS, ANCHOR, LALIGA NEWS, LA LIGA T.V. (via skype): Well, we would explain maybe the emergence of these far-right party bugs because of the
rise of the Catalan independence movement, for instance.
Vox is formed by old members of conservative (PP), a Partido Popular, and we -- they've already made a breakthrough into politics in the Andalusian
regional elections. They are really focused on being tougher in Catalonia, being tougher on immigration. But maybe they would not be compared as what
we've seen in Europe because they are not quite anti-European Union. If they are not declared maybe pro-European Union but they just an opposed
becoming part of the European Union.
But they do embrace, for instance, Steve Bannon's ideas for example or mature solving his ideas. They -- and they do want to make Spain great
again. And their policies are quite similar if we compare it with Trump's policies for instance.
ANDERSON: So, as far as I understand, this is as much about sort of re- centralization as decentralization, a sort of backlash to the -- to what was going on in Spain in 2017. Very briefly, should they garner as much
support as people think they will in this election? How will that impact Spanish politics going forward?
CANALS: Well, it depends on the post. They also have been saying that they could gain seats in Congress, as we've seen also in Andalusia. And
this actually can affect the landscape and the future of the Catalan independence crisis.
We have seen -- we've seen that there's two different approaches on the Catalan crisis. The right-wing government, and the right-wing party --
sorry, are more willing to apply -- trigger Article 155. They want to take control over Catalonia. And with the support of far-right party Vox, they
could actually take charge of Catalan institutions.
The potential representation of Vox in the upcoming Spanish government actually worries this Catalan pro-independence parties and the people who
support independence.
[11:55:34] ANDERSON: Fascinating. Well, we await to see the results of what as we described this is a pivotal election in Spain. Sara, thank you.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD, for you. Thank you for watching wherever you are in the world. It's very good evening from the
teams working with us here in Abu Dhabi.
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