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One World with Zain Asher

Protests Erupt Across Israel After Killing Of Six Hostages; Biden, Harris Meet With U.S. Hostage Deal Team; Trump says He Had "Every Right" To Interfere With 2020 Election; Growing Pressure In Israel To Secure Release Of Hostages; 10,000 Plus Hotel Workers On Strike In U.S.; U.S. Military Base In The Heart Of South Korea; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET

Aired September 02, 2024 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:34]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD.

We begin this hour in Israel and a tremendous outpouring of grief, fury, and frustration across the nation for a second day now, sparked by the

killing and murder of six Israeli hostages over the weekend.

Tens of thousands of protesters are calling for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The largest trade union launched a general strike Monday,

which ended early after a Tel Aviv court order.

Some demonstrations turned ugly over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PROTESTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Protesters and critics blamed the Israeli prime minister for not agreeing to a ceasefire and hostage deal that would bring the remaining

hostages home.

We expect to hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu in the next hour.

Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden had rare criticism for Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you think it's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he's doing enough?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: The deaths of the six hostages has renewed the sense of outrage in Israel following their murder. Three of them were expected to be

released in the first phase of ceasefire hostage release deal.

Earlier, CNN spoke to a former hostage whose husband is still being held in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVIVA SIEGEL, FORMER HOSTAGE: He's killing and killing the hostages by leaving them there. He needs to push. He was chosen to lead to lead his

country. And he's not doing that now.

What he's doing is breaking everybody up into pieces. Everybody's just sad and crying and had enough. And that's what we saw last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: In Jerusalem, thousands gathered to pay their respects to Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He was just 23 years old. One of

those six hostages killed by Hamas whose bodies were found over the weekend.

Now, since October 7th, his parents worked tirelessly to bring him and other hostages home.

At his funeral, his mother, Rachel, said she hoped his killing would be a turning point. She delivered a heart wrenching goodbye to her only son.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN, MOTHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: I have had a lot of time during the past 332 days to think about my sweet boy, Hersh.

And one thing I keep thinking about is how, out of all of the mothers in the whole entire world, God chose to give Hersh to me.

What must I have done in the past life to deserve such a beautiful gift? It must have been glorious.

If ever I was impatient or insensitive to you during your life or neglected you in some way, I deeply and sincerely request your forgiveness, Hersh.

If there was something we could have done to save you and we didn't think of it, I beg your forgiveness. We tried so very hard, so deeply and

desperately. I'm sorry.

Now, my Hersh, I ask for your help as we transform our hope into grief. In this new unknown brand of pain, I beg of you, Hersh, please do what you can

to have your light shine down on me, Dada, Libi, and Orli (ph). Help shower us with healing and resilience. Help us to rise again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: A Mother with incredible compassion, empathy and strength.

Meantime back in Washington, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met at the White House with the U.S. team involved in hostage

negotiations. They're trying to chart a path forward after the murders of those hostages.

The White House National Security Advisor says the next few days will be critical to reaching a deal.

CNN reporters are standing by in Israel and the U.S. to cover this developing story. Kylie Atwood is in Washington, D.C. But let's begin with

Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv.

And, Nic, more heartbreaking moments over the weekend following news of the murder of those six hostages. Many saying it felt like October 7th all over

again. And just the gut-wrenching word spoken by Rachel Goldberg-Polin about her son saying that they became absolutely certain that he was going

to come home alive, but as she said, it was not to be.

[12:05:04]

The deal, they said, was so authentic, you could almost taste it. And now it appears what we're seeing on the streets in Israel shows the anger and

frustration among Israelis that this prime minister is not moving forward to putting a deal in place right now. In fact, perhaps moving the goal

post.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. It really feels as if today Hersh's mother has not only captured her and her family's grief

and emotion and suffering, but she's really captured where the nation is today.

We were at the protest last night and there was so much energy. It was anguish, it was heartbreak, it was frustration and anger, anger at the

government, anger at the prime minister for not adjusting and toning down, if you will, his -- the deal he was trying to negotiate with Hamas.

And that anger really played out late into the night, but walking on the streets today and being in the square with a lot of other people listening

to some ladies singing, just sort of a vigil, a man playing more full songs on a grand piano position there in the square, just overlooking the six

wreaths that were placed in the square yesterday for the -- for the six who died and in the middle of the wreath it says, sorry.

What you just heard from Hersh's mother really encapsulates that the feeling on the street here today, the protests are not there in the

numbers, that they're there in spirit. But it feels like today, the energy of yesterday is dissipated a bit, souls are beaten.

And I think as well, when you look at the fact that it's Itamar Ben-Gvir, the sort of right way member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet appealed

into the Tel Aviv courts to get an overturn of the union's decision to go on a national strike, that the fact that that was overturned this afternoon

kind of sets the mood.

I think everyone's really wondering, OK, we know what we want to do. We know we want to get the prime minister to change his mind, but how do we --

how do we do that?

And the street protests are clearly going to be one of the ways to do it. And undoubtedly when the prime minister speaks, he'll be -- he'll be trying

to resend the message that he sent yesterday that none of this was his fault. It was all Hamas' fault. It just doesn't cut on the streets here in

Tel Aviv, pretty much. I have to say.

GOLODRYGA: Or with some members of his own cabinet, including his defense establishment, his defense minister, who's been saying for weeks now that

now is the time for a deal now that Hamas has been weakened enough, that they think that it is safe to put forward a ceasefire, at least for six

weeks to see that these hostages come home.

Nic Robertson, thank you.

Let's get the perspective now from Washington, Kylie Atwood at the U.S. State Department.

Short comments from President Biden, but notable, given that in the past, he has been reluctant to criticize Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly, at

least, is his part in not moving this deal forward, putting the onus and pressure on Hamas.

And while that still holds, interesting to hear the president say when asked that Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister himself is not doing enough

in his mind.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly noteworthy, because as you said, we have reported, you know, on the background

conversations, the conversations behind closed doors among U.S. officials growing frustration with the prime minister of Israel, with Netanyahu.

But what we haven't heard so much is a public pronouncement of that. And what President Biden was asked outside the White House today, as he was

heading into that meeting with his national security team, is if Prime Minister Netanyahu has done enough to cling to deal here, to get out these

hostages and put a ceasefire into place. And he simply said, no.

So we'll watch and see what that translates into if the Biden administration is putting more pressure on the Netanyahu government to

actually seize a deal here.

When you talk to U.S. officials, they say there is a really new urgency at this time. And we have heard that sentiment time and time again, but I

think that it is especially true today, just days after those six hostages were murdered by Hamas, there is the feeling that they really need to get

out the rest of those hostages.

A hundred one of them, 68 of them, believed to still be alive. And so we'll watch and see what comes out of this meeting that President Biden is having

with his national security team today.

One other thing that he was asked outside the White House by our colleague, Kevin Liptak, is if he will be presenting to both sides a final deal, a

final package for a deal in the coming week. And he said they are very close to that.

So that suggests that this urgency is actually going to translate into the United States. And its partners, of course, Egypt and Qatar, potentially

putting something on the table.

[12:10:03]

We know that the U.S. had been working on a final package. That's according to a senior administration official, but one of the complicating factors

that has risen from this devastating murderous events over the weekend is that a number of those hostages who were killed were part of that package,

that deal, that the final deal that U.S. officials were putting together.

So they're going to have to go back to the drawing board as they work on that. And this is clearly something that the Biden administration feels

very strongly about putting all of its efforts into meeting today on Labor Day at the White House to try and push forth these efforts that have been

ongoing, of course, for months now.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Three of those murdered hostages were expected to have been on that first phase of that deal to have been released home, as you know,

101 hostages remain in Gaza, seven of them are American, four of them now believe to still be alive following the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Kylie Atwood, thank you.

And I'm joined now by Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of Omri Miran, who was taken captive during the Hamas attack from his kibbutz on October 7th.

Moshe Lavi is a former captain in the Israeli Defense Forces, joins me now live from New York. Moshi, welcome back to the program. Again, I wish it

wasn't under these circumstances.

I know that you have been speaking over the weekend following news of the heinous murder of these six hostages, what looked like so close to a deal.

And God knows what hell they've lived through now for 329 days before they were discovered.

You say that everyone should be blamed for the fact that there isn't a deal now that your brother-in-law isn't home from the Israeli government, from

Hamas, and even mediators, including the United States.

Can you explain why you view that?

MOSHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: Yes. Thank you for having me on the show again. It's been a difficult few days for us to process the

news as families of hostages coming together.

I think so many mistakes were made by the different parties to the negotiations. And I'll elaborate. Hamas, of course, holds the prime blame

here. It murdered and kidnapped Israeli citizens, Israeli residents and foreign tourists on October 7th, and holding them captive, and not allowing

access to medicine or visitation, and executing them in cold blood.

And so it's clear that Hamas is to be blamed. And it needs to be dismantled for the sake of Israelis and the Palestinians and the wider region.

But I believe the international community failed here because it did not unite on October 8th in demanding clearly that Hamas needs to be

dismantled, that the hostages should be returned.

And the U.S. administration has well failed because it did not implement policies that could have pushed sponsors of Hamas to agree to a deal, to

agree to release the hostages. Countries like Qatar were retaining their known NATO ally status, retaining the U.S. base that is there. Countries

like Turkey remain being a NATO ally. Countries like Iran are now suffering the consequences of pushing proxies to attack Israel.

But also, hold my elected officials responsible because it appears to be that there are other interests overriding bringing home the hostages. And

they're not being honest with us that those interests override bringing home the hostages.

What I demand Israeli leadership is to look in the eyes of the citizens, the majority of the Israeli public, according to all polls, and say, we are

not prioritizing a deal right now to bring home the hostages. We have other objectives to be prioritized.

So this is what I demand from them. And I demand from them as well to explain to the Israeli public that this current situation is not normal. It

should not be normalized by the citizens. It's perhaps what happens as a result of a global problem, as a result of their failures, but it should

not be normalized.

And my sense is that the current government is normalizing the horrific situation in which our family members, our loved ones are held captive by

Hamas.

GOLODRYGA: You believe that the news of the murder of these six hostages following just last week news that six other hostages, their remains, were

found. Older men that we know a few months ago were alive, given proof of life videos and the Hamas psychological warfare that they would do in

releasing some of these videos.

[12:15:03]

Why do you think what we've seen over the weekend, followed by leaks from the Israeli government cabinet meeting in fighting matches that have been

reported between the prime minister and his defense minister over differences over the Philadelphi corridor, the prime minister demanding

that Israeli troops will stay there.

The defense minister saying that basically the prime minister owns the murder of these hostages if he doesn't budge on that point.

Why do you think all of that is now something that has crossed the Rubicon? We've seen hundreds of thousands of people protest over the weekend. Are

things different in your view?

LAVI: I think it's an accumulation of different variables.

First, the Israeli public, many members of the Israeli public are no longer afraid to go out to the streets and exercise their democratic right, even

though we're in the midst of a war. And they're not afraid of doing that because they understand that our social contract, our dear social contract

is under threat and that politics will be overriding another line of interest such as the redemption of our captives.

Second, there are just a lot of disagreements in our current coalition. And sadly, we have a culture of leaking meetings, including meetings between

elected officials and families of hostages for political benefits. I wish that wasn't the case.

But there are clear disagreements between the minister of defense and the prime minister. I think what was done last week was a great mistake passing

that decision and the government self-sabotage the negotiations and now terminating that decision. Reversing it will only embolden Hamas.

So Israel is now at a cross world when he made a terrible decision last week and now it can't reverse it because that will be even more terrible.

And I think that the murder by Hamas, of the six hostages, made so many people upset, made people understand that they have to go to the streets

and they have to showcase that the government cannot continue doing what it does, prioritizing other things over the redemption of our captives, which

according to our tradition, the Jewish religion, according to Shulchan Aruch, when it's possible to expedite, we need to redeem the captives and

not doing so is as if we shed one blood. And that's what so many Israelis are feeling.

GOLODRYGA: Moshe, I'm not even going to ask what you were feeling, what your sister, Lishay, was feeling upon news of the murder of these six

hostages because it's unimaginable.

But when it comes to your brother-in-law, Omri, we've learned so much about him, thanks to you, thanks to your sister for constantly speaking of him,

for not forgetting about him, for telling the world about him and fighting for his release.

He seems like such a wonderful man, a wonderful husband and a fantastic father. How are his two young daughters doing right now? Your nieces.

LAVI: Yes. So September 1st was a difficult day in Israel, not only because of the tragic news, but also because it's the first day students go to

school to kindergarten. My nieces went to kindergarten that day for the first time without her father. And it was especially painful and difficult

for Roni, who was 3 years old.

But, of course, as well to Alma, who recognizes her father. Every time she sees her poster, his poster, she says father, one of her first words she

learned.

And so the pain is unimaginable. My sister spoke in the rally yesterday in Tel Aviv and also to channel 12, one of the channels in Israel, emphasizing

that she can't say -- she can't really tell their -- her daughters anymore that she'll be able to bring Omri home alive.

Because we saw Omri real live in late April, if you recall, because Hamas released a psychological warfare video of him. He looked unwell, but we

were relieved to see him survive.

But Hersh Polin Goldberg was also shown in one of those terrible videos and he lost his life murdered by Hamas. My sister fears the same for Omri and,

of course, for the rest of the hostages.

And so that's why we keep on marching, keep holding everyone we have to hold accountable. Because at the end of this terrible war, we don't want to

look in the mirror.

You know, I don't know if you know the book -- the picture of Dorian Gray, when he sees in the portrait, in that book, he sees all the evil that

consumed him as he -- while he stayed young forever. And it was -- I don't want the end of the war we'll look in the mirror, we'll look on our

portrait as a society, as humanity, and feel that we can't bear it anymore, and can bear the image that is in front of us.

[12:20:17]

We fight monsters, but we cannot become in the process those monsters, and we have to prioritize the sanctification of life, which is what my sister

says, what Omri's father, Dani, says. And what I'm echoing here.

GOLODRYGA: Well, just like Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin have said today at their son's funeral, they fought, they fought every single day,

and did every single thing they could to bring their son home, to make sure the world didn't forget about him. And I know that's exactly what you and

your sister and her father-in-law are doing to make sure that your brother- in-law, Omri Miran, also comes home.

Moshe Lavi, thank you so much for joining us.

LAVI: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, it is Labor Day in the United States and Kamala Harris is making a pitch to union workers.

Harris will campaign alongside her boss, President Joe Biden, this afternoon at a local union hall in Pittsburgh. It will be their first time

on the trail together since the democratic convention. Harris will also travel to Detroit for a campaign event.

Both stops are designed to highlight her campaign's commitment to working class voters, especially in swing states.

And Donald Trump does not have any Labor Day event plan, but he is again igniting controversy with comments about the last election.

He spoke to Fox News on Sunday about the updated indictment in his federal election interference case.

Trump says that he had, quote, every right to interfere with the 2020 presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's so crazy that my poll numbers go up. Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a

presidential election where you have every right to do it, you get indicted and your poll numbers go up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Also talk about in U.S. politics, let's welcome CNN politics senior reporter, Stephen Collinson. Stephen, it's good to see you.

So let's talk about the former president not sticking to the message that all of his advisers are hoping he will and that is focusing on going

forward on the 2024 election and on policy specifically not on the past. And yet, he can't seem to do that.

[12:25:08]

How significant is that? And what are we sensing about that impacting undecided voters now?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: So throughout this period, since the departure of President Joe Biden from the race, Trump has

struggled to gain traction in framing a case against the new democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.

Lots of people around Trump have been asking him, I've spoken to a number, to just focus exclusively on the economy, on other issues which tie Harris

to the Biden administration, for instance, high grocery prices. And to his critique that the world is spinning out of control and Biden and Harris

can't do anything about it, but he appears absolutely determined to continue this personal series of attacks.

What it looks like to me is the former president is trying to tear Harris down personally and politically and as a viable political figure.

And in some ways, this makes sense because Trump has never in a battleground state or in the national vote in the national election got

more than about 48 percent of the vote.

If Kamala Harris is able to unite her coalition, win over independents and moderate voters in swing states, she can potentially get to 51 or 52

percent. So he needs to really bring down her ceiling because it's very hard to see at this point that anyone who's not already committed to vote

for Donald Trump may be persuaded to do so.

So that's potentially what might be going on inside Trump's own strategizing even as his campaign seems to want to do something completely

different.

GOLODRYGA: This perhaps a preview of his own strategy that we could see unfold at next week's really consequential debate?

COLLINSON: Yes. And that debate really is the last big planned event that we know about that could affect the election. Of course, elections are

always influenced by outside events, economic crises, foreign policy disasters. But that is the big final formal event.

And it's going to be very critical because it may be the last debate they do. Harris has spoken potentially about doing a second debate, but the

wrangling over the terms of this one don't give you an awful lot of hope that it might happen.

Trump needs to try to damage Harris to slow her momentum, coming out of the democratic coalition, and since she took over the Democratic ticket.

I think it's an important moment for Harris to create the generational change. And I think what she would like, and this is why she wanted the

microphones unmuted is she'd like a wild, unchain performance by Trump because that would play into her central concede of her campaign. And it's

time to move on from such chaos and bitterness and divisiveness. And then Americans want something more forward looking and optimistic.

So it's going to be a very interesting sort of political set piece, whatever the two of them actually say.

GOLODRYGA: It will indeed. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much. Good to see you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead for us, thousands of miles from the U.S. a little slice of America that stands in the shadow of one of America's

biggest global enemies.

And coming up, thousands of furious Israelis pour into the streets accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of standing in the way of a ceasefire

agreement that would bring home the remaining hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not about fighting. It's not about saving Israel anymore. It's about politics. The politicians wanting to stay where they

are. And that is not a price anyone should pay for his freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:21]

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

The relative of one Israeli hostage still being held captive in Gaza summed it up with these six words, it's time to sign that deal.

And we're looking at pictures here from Tel Aviv where it is 7:30 P.M. in the evening people are once again out on the streets, demanding their

government gets serious about a ceasefire and hostage agreement.

That urgency only intensifying after the IDF discovered the bodies of six hostages that were murdered in Gaza over the weekend.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming Hamas for the stalled negotiations. And an Israeli official says Netanyahu has vowed a strong

reaction to the murder of those hostages. The official told CNN the intention of the prime minister is to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn't

done before. Protesters are accusing the prime minister of putting his personal interests over those of the remaining 101 hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is beyond politics. It's beyond everything. It's humanity. We feel that the whole -- the ministry of defense. Everybody in

the army is now saying, we don't need to fight anymore. It's not about fighting. It's not about saving Israel anymore It's about politics the

politicians wanting to stay where they are. And that is not a price anyone should pay for his freedom. Definitely not 108 people who have been there

for 332 days now already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Time now for The Exchange and my conversation with Aaron David Miller. He's a senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

and a former Mideast negotiator for the State Department. Welcome to the program.

So you heard it from that protester, explaining quite eloquently how many Israelis, not just those protesting, not just the members of families of

those who are held hostage in Gaza, but even from this own government, the prime minister's government and his defense establishment saying now is

time for a deal. And the priority should be getting the remaining hostages back home.

And yet, the prime minister doesn't seem to want to budge on this specific issue one that one specific issue is the Philadelphi corridor, which in

that initial deal, they agreed to in May, wasn't even included.

So, what do you think is going on here?

AARON DAVID MILLER, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Look, thanks for having me, Bianna.

Negotiations, and based on my experience, closed when two parties are in a hurry. If you and I were negotiating, when the incentives of reaching a

deal clearly outweigh the risks and disadvantages of not achieving one, that's when decision makers decide to move forward.

And in this case, I think the protesters had it exactly right, there is no urgency or limited urgency, it seems to me, on the part of both Benjamin

Netanyahu whose organizing principle of his world is maintaining himself from power, 64 seats in an Israeli government. Unless you had massive

demonstrations day after day after day, unless the security establishment, minister of defense, head of Shin Bet, head of Mossad.

[12:35:24]

The top of hostage negotiator resigned to put that kind of pressure. Then Knesset (INAUDIBLE) prevails. (INAUDIBLE) Sinwar, I also believe, has no

real sense of urgency. Anyone who is going willfully execute five hostages, six hostages, including an American citizen, clearly has another agenda in

mind.

And we don't know the circumstances here. Were his guards fearful of an IDF presence closing in or did Sinwar basically decide to send a message -- to

send a message?

And look what's happened as a consequence of those murders. You have the largest single set of protests since October 7. You have the minister of

defense, Yoav Gallant, openly challenging the prime minister in a cabinet meeting, accusing him of moral abdication.

And the Biden administration, perhaps willing to present what they regard as a final proposal in the next week or so, a last chance, if that's what

it is, to get a vote on Hamas to sign on.

So, that's sadly, tragically. Time is an ally from Netanyahu and for Sinwar. It is a cruel adversary for the hostages, their families, and

certainly for the two plus million Palestinians in Gaza.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. It is indeed very heartbreaking.

And when you mention this final proposal that the Biden administration is working on right now with the president and his security team, what does

that even mean? That if this doesn't work, it's over? That there's no more impetus for the president to be involved here?

I mean, he himself said that he's going to be focused. One of his top priorities during his remainder in office here is seeing a hostage

ceasefire deal, getting these Americans home.

So, what do you make of the logic in describing this as the final deal?

MILLER: I think the administration has to be very careful here. Because it's best what you're going to get from Sinwar and from Netanyahu is a yes,

but (ph). That's the best you're going to be able to do.

And the administration basically says, we're not complaining. Basically, we're not interested in negotiation. The time has come to make an

assessment on who is responsible for the absence of progress. They could go that way. But that will not bring them any closer for what you actually

still need.

However, perfect it is, which is an Israeli/Hamas deal, at least, Bianna, to get them phase one, which is a limited exchange of hostages in exchange

for six weeks ceasefire in a large number of Palestinian prisoners, many will be convicted or charged with killing Israelis. That's going to be a

very painful deal for this Israeli government to accept.

But I believe, under the right circumstances, they could be brought to accept that. But even now, that seems like a stretch. Netanyahu is going to

give a press conference. Maybe they'll have something encouraging to say, but I suspect he's going to double that.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. I was going to ask you what you thought that he would be saying. It's been a while since he's given a press conference.

Clearly, he sees these scenes on the street there in Tel Aviv, the largest protest that we've seen in months, labor strike that court ordered to stop.

But still, thousands of people, public disagreements, among his -- within his defense establishment.

Do you think it will ultimately lead or require people to leave office for him to budge on this?

MILLER: You have to see either defections from his own party. And that would only result, I think, from sustained public pressure.

And as I mentioned before, a decision by the security at least, the defense minister, the head of Shin Bet, the head of Mossad, the key Israeli hostage

negotiation -- negotiator, to basically submit their resignations, to basically say we've lost confidence in you, Prime Minister Netanyahu.

These men are driven by a profound sense of duty. I think that's going to be tough for them to do. But I really think you'd need 24/7 sustained

protests, day after day after day, to essentially bring the country to a standstill. That's an extremely difficult challenge.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And there are rumors circulating that we could, in fact, see the prime minister fire some of these security officials, his defense

minister. He's done that before, only to reverse that decision during the judicial overhaul last year. But that is widely being speculated as well.

[12:40:11]

We'll see, because even once you have Israel agreeing to a deal, you obviously need to have Hamas agree to a deal as well. Meantime, we just

continue to see more heartbreak and frustration and anger on the streets there in Israel.

Again, Aaron David Miller, thank you so much for your time. It's always good to see you.

MILLER: Thanks for having me, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, in Gaza, the U.N. drive to get children vaccinated against polio is in its second day. The U.N.'s agency for Palestinian

refugees says close to 90,000 children have been reached.

UNRWA is pledging to immunize more than 90 percent of Gaza's children under the age of 10 after the first case of polio and the enclave in 25 years was

recently reported.

And we'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Airports and highways continue to be busy as Americans try to get home from the long holiday weekend. About 17 million travelers are

expected to shuttle through the nation's airports through Wednesday, according to transportation officials.

Nearly 240 million travelers have been screened for security since Memorial Day weekend in late May. July 7th was the peak day for air travel this

summer.

Well, more than 10,000 workers at two dozen hotels across the U.S. have walked off the job. They started walking the picket lines on Sunday,

disrupting operations at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott locations on this busy U.S. holiday weekend. They say they're striking for better pay and working

conditions.

I want to bring in CNN's Gloria Pazmino for more on this.

So, Gloria, how long is this strike expected to last?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Bianna, the union, UNITE HERE, which represents these workers has voted to authorize this strike.

They are only expecting to strike through tomorrow.

Now, many of the contracts have expired, so there is a possibility that the strikes could continue at a later date, but they are choosing this Labor

Day holiday as a strategic time to go on strike and highlight what they say are the needs of their workers.

They want better wages, improved working conditions. And specifically, Bianna, they are talking about the restoration of cuts that took place

during the pandemic. That's both cuts to services that are offered in hotels, as well as staff. They say that hotels have rebounded since the

pandemic. Travel is back to where it was. Tourism is again taking place.

[12:45:12]

And so there are a lot of guests coming into the hotels and workers cannot keep up. They say they want to improve their working conditions and their

wages to reflect the earnings that these hotel chains are making.

So far, there's more than 10,000 workers walking the picket line. And this is pretty spread out. You see all the cities that are being affected there,

Seattle, Boston, Greenwich, Connecticut. Honolulu in Hawaii is being affected as well.

Take a listen to a woman who's been walking the Hawaii picket line, talking about why she is doing this, especially over this Labor Day holiday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELLY RINANTE, HOUSEKEEPER, HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE: But we're going to do whatever it takes for us to have a better contract, better wages, better

work conditions.

So we're doing this not only for us, but for them too, for the guests to provide them the better service they deserve and for our families, for our

community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: I spoke to another worker, Bianna, who told me that living -- the cost of living is really central to this. She works in San Francisco and

she has to work two jobs in order to make ends meet. She says that many of her colleagues, more than half of them, work a second job in order to

afford the high cost of living in a place like San Francisco, which is where she lives.

Now the president of UNITE HERE, Gwen Mills, she has been focused on one specific issue and that is the restoration of daily room cleaning. That's

one of the issues that's top of mind for this union.

They say that that service was cut during the pandemic. It has not been restored and you have guests that are at the hotels, rooms that need to be

cleaned, and not nearly as many staff as it's necessary and that this is now taking longer hours because there are more people utilizing these hotel

rooms.

So the union asking their employers to recognize their work on this Labor Day. They were -- historically, they recognize the contributions of

workers as well as the labor movement. But we'll see if they are not able to get to an agreement, whether or not they're going to be taking action

beyond Labor Day.

GOLODRYGA: You'll follow it for us. CNN's Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

Well, it's been described as a Little America, a bit like Texas, but just 60 miles from North Korea. Forty-one thousand people live in the largest

U.S. overseas military base in the world and their experience is a mix of both American and Korean cultures.

CNN's Mike Valerio reports from Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's where rock concerts roar. Donuts delight, Krispy Kreme on the conveyor belt, and where

families find new homes in Korea.

Like the Cook family, trading their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio for Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

It's the Army's busiest airfield in Asia, and the biggest U.S. military base overseas. Camp Humphreys, is about 60 miles away from North Korea,

driving distance from the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, the DMZ, which divides the Korean peninsula.

More than 40,000 people call Camp Humphreys home, including the Cooks. They have not one but two sets of twins, the youngest, just eight months old.

TERRY COOK, U.S. ARMY IT SPECIALIST: And when you set this, you won't have --

VALERIO (voice over): They came here because of Sergeant Terry Cook, an Army IT Specialist here to support the critical U.S. South Korean Military

Alliance.

TYRESE COOK, WIFE OF SERGEANT TERRY COOKE: We met in Cincinnati, Ohio.

VALERIO (voice over): But in Dad mode with his wife, Ree (ph), he says it's all about supporting his parental platoon.

TERRY COOK: I just really like to, you know, spend as much time of -- maximize my time with this whole unit I've got here.

VALERIO: I just like your new look right now. You are literally super dad. You could do like curls now.

VALERIO (voice over): Camp Humphreys host the only U.S. Army Division, which is partially made up South Korean soldiers. It also serves as the

headquarters of United Nation's command.

The international military force is designed to protect South Korea since the Korean War. Now, nearly 75 years later.

The Korean Peninsula's proximity to China and Russia, makes South Korea a key lynchpin in Northeast's Asia's security for the U.S. government.

But the goal for families here is to immerse in Korean culture, which is especially important for Ree, since she lived in Germany as a kid when her

dad was a sergeant in the Army.

TYRESE COOK: Being able to provide my children with the same cultural experiences that I was given as a child. It is extremely important to me as

a mother.

VALERIO (voice over): But for those looking for a slice of America, there's plenty. Texas Roadhouse, Young Base Golf Course, and one of the biggest

Fourth of July celebrations on this side of the world.

Then, there this, a giant bakery. Wonder bread, burger buns, and delicious donuts made with a secret Krispy Kreme recipe no less, for the schools,

restaurants and grocery stores serving U.S. bases across South Korea.

[12:50:15]

There's also the feeling of belonging.

(CHEERING)

VALERIO (voice over): Jubilation after years in the Army finally becoming American citizens. Non-commissioned officer, NCO, Sergeant Vanessa Ramo was

born in the Philippines supported here at her naturalization ceremony by her platoon.

RENEE MYATT, U.S. ARMY: She's an amazing NCO. Very, very supportive to us. I know. I'm sorry.

VALERIO (voice over): As for becoming a U.S. citizen in Korea --

VANESSA RAMO, U.S. ARMY: I didn't expect it to be here, honestly. It's great to do it overseas somewhere, especially in Korea. I love Korea.

VALERIO (voice over): Ramo's platoon leader himself, naturalized in Philadelphia.

JACOB HAN, U.S. ARMY: It just makes it really proud because I'm a Korean- American, meaning, I can serve the people like the country that I was born in, but also the country that also gave me a lot of opportunities, which is

the U.S.

VALERIO (voice -over): A slice of America, inextricably part of the Korean tapestry and for its newest residents, hardly far from home.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, grief and anger continue to grip Israel after six hostages were murdered by Hamas over the weekend.

One of them, American-Israeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Israel's President gave the eulogy a short time ago as the 23-year-old was laid to

rest in the Jerusalem cemetery.

The young music lover was seized on October 7th. His parents have been outspoken over nearly 11 months now, trying to convince anyone who would

listen to do whatever possible to bring their son and the remaining hostages home.

Hersh's mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, is someone we've gotten to know pretty well here at CNN. I myself have spoken with her many times.

And I'll be back in the next hour with "AMANPOUR" to continue this coverage.

But before we go, I want to play this clip for you from one of those conversations I had with her in person back in January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: I want to end by talking about Hersh. So tell us about him. Tell us about Hersh.

GOLDBERG-POLIN: Well, Hersh got the bug for geography in first grade because he had this wonderful teacher who just said, nobody studies

geography anymore. You're all learning geography. And so he also became obsessed with the idea of travel.

[12:55:09]

And so even from first and second grade, he was planning a massive trip around the world that he would eventually take, as you mentioned before.

His ticket was for December 27th. We actually went to the airport on that day with 50 of our friends. And we went to where the flight was.

El Al allowed us to go and give stickers of Hersh to everyone on his flight. And we said to them, send us pictures when you get to these far-

flung places.

And they've sent from Nepal and Thailand and India and Vietnam and said, come on Hersh, we're waiting for you with stickers up.

And I'm praying that he'll come home and get the help that he needs. And he will get to go take that trip and he'll get to places and say, why is my

sticker everywhere?

And then he'll be like, mom, why do you do that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END