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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Iraqi Truck Bomb; Secret Plane Spying on ISIS; Trump to Resume Filling Posts After Holiday; Rohingya Refugees Fleeing Torture in Myanmar; The Jewish Ghetto of Venice; Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 25, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Targets Shia pilgrims on a highway south of Baghdad.

The fight against ISIS involves spy planes. We get rare access to a reconnaissance mission against the militants.

And she barely registered in the polls but she's demanding a recount. Jill Stein speaks out about her new campaign.

Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I am Isha Sesay. This is NEWSROOM L.A.

We begin in Iraq where at least 80 people were killed when a truck bomb exploded at a gas station southeast of Baghdad. Most of the victims were inside buses caring Iranian Shiite pilgrims.

Our own Phil Black reports on who's claiming responsibility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The online jihadi monitoring service site, intelligence says, it has identified a claim of responsibility from ISIS for this latest devastating attack in which it says its motivation is to spread the fighting that's taking place around here in the north of the country to other areas of Iraq, including the capital Baghdad, and regions south of there, as well.

It is a long-standing, often stated ambition of the group to inflame full blown sectarian civil war in this country. ISIS is an extremist Sunni group. The victims of this latest horrific attack were Shia pilgrims, returning in vast numbers from a pilgrimage to a holy shrine at Karbala.

This attack also shows the capability that ISIS maintains to lash out on another front a long way from Mosul in the north of Iraq. Its strongholds here. Even while it is increasingly under pressure and losing territory because of the Iraqi operation to drive ISIS from Mosul and these regions in the north.

Phil Black, CNN, Irbil, northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SESAY: Well, the anti-ISIS coalition led by the U.S. is going after the terror group in Iraq and Syria. CNN was granted exclusive access to a secretive spying program that ISIS targets militants.

CNN's senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Fighting ISIS in a spacesuit. We can only identify the pilot by his first name, Captain Stevens, and by his call sign, "Meathead." He's about to embark on a high altitude reconnaissance mission in a U- 2 spy plane.

We were given rare access to the preparations, launch and landing of one of these highly secretive missions that have a clear objective, one of the pilots tells me.

MAJOR MATT, U.S. AIR FORCE: With the U-2, we're able to get out there, find those guys, track them, get that information back to the fighter types, the bomber types so when they go out there, they've got the best intel, the best information on where they are and then obviously do what needs to be done.

PLEITGEN: The U-2 can fly extremely high, more than 70,000 feet, and get pictures and other information to forces on the ground very fast. It's a Cold War era plane flying since the 1950s but its cameras and sensors have been completely upgraded.

(On camera): With as many technological upgrades the U-2 Dragon Lady remains one of America's main assets in the information gathering effort against ISIS. But of course intelligence gathering happens on many levels and much of it happens through drones like this Global Hawk which patrols in the skies above Iraq and Syria almost every day.

(Voice-over): The information from these surveillance platforms is key to helping jets from the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition to strike their targets. Support of forces combating the group on the ground in places like Mosul and Iraq.

But while the U-2 can soar higher than almost any other plane it's pretty hard to land. We're in a chase car that speeds after the jet, helping to guide the pilot to the ground after an almost 10-hour mission.

Peeling himself out of the cockpit, Captain Stevens says he believes the U-2 was making a major impact.

CAPT. STEVENS, U.S. AIR FORCE: Things that we can do while we're up there, as well as how often we're up there can be things for these guys. We are constantly in the air providing support to those that need it most.

PLEITGEN: And the need for the U-2 services will remain in high demand. While ISIS may be losing ground the group remains both deadly and elusive. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in the Middle East.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, the race against time in eastern Aleppo. Some of the quarter million people trapped there could face starvation in less than 10 days. That's according to the head of the volunteer group, the White Helmet. He also told Reuters News Agency that rescuers are running out of heavy equipment to pull people from the rubble. On Thursday alone 59 people were killed. Activists say suspected chemical attack involving chlorine killed one woman.

[02:05:05] This was the tenth consecutive day of renewed government airstrikes.

Well, police in France are searching for suspects after a woman was found dead inside a retirement home for priests and nuns. A local official in southern France says a masked man forced his way into the home early Friday morning. Intruders tied up a staff member who was able to free herself and call police. A source close to the investigation says the suspect used a knife to kill the victim and that it appears she was the intended target. Police do not think the attack was terror related.

Now U.S. President-elect Trump is set to resume his transition work on Friday morning after the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States.

CNN's Jason Carroll has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tomorrow a transition call is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. That's when the transition team will get together and go over who's on tap to be interviewed for Cabinet positions on Monday.

Nothing going to be happening today in terms of announcements. Perhaps we'll hear something tomorrow. Perhaps we'll hear something about Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor, is the lead person up for that particular position.

Maybe we'll hear something tomorrow about Ben Carson. Dr. Carson has already said that an offer is on the table.

Trump for his part tweeting out saying that he is still working today, working to try to keep jobs in the United States. As you know throughout the campaign, he said that companies such as Carrier air conditioning that takes jobs from the United States and takes them overseas to a place like Mexico, for example, he would impose a 35 percent import tax to try to keep those jobs here in the United States.

So what he did was today he tweeted, "I am working hard even on Thanksgiving trying to get Carrier air conditioning company to stay in the United States, Indiana, making progress. We'll know soon." Carrier for its part releasing its own statement saying, "Carries has

had discussions with the incoming administration and we look forward to working together. And nothing to announce at this time."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: CNN's Jason Carroll reporting there.

Well, the "Washington Post" report says Donald Trump is skipping most of the daily intelligence briefing since his elections. The "Post" says Trump has only met twice with a team of intelligence analysts.

CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona spoke with our own Carol Costello about the report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's critical that he start taking these briefings and start taking this seriously because there are a lot of ongoing things that he has to be ready on January 20 to start making decisions, and it's a very, very steep learning curve for someone who has absolutely no experience, you know, in how a government runs, how an intelligence system runs, and how a national security establishment runs and how the military runs. This is going to be a massive learning curve and I think he needs to start, like, today.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, but here's the thing. What if he's surrounding himself with people who know like Michael Flynn, for example? He's very experienced. What if he has General Mattis be his Defense secretary? General Mattis is very experienced. Couldn't they sort of, like, you know, keep an eye on things and then report to a President Trump and --

FRANCONA: Well --

COSTELLO: And --

FRANCONA: That's assuming that he surrounds himself with quality people. Some of those names I think are quality people and I think he'll get good advice. But he has to make the decisions. And we elected a -- we elect a president to take the advice of his Cabinet, take the advice of his advisers, and then make decisions. But the decision is his. And the more informed he is I think the better decisions we have.

You know, like Harry Truman said, the buck stops at that desk. And I want that desk to have all the information and I want him to have read it, not listening to somebody else filter it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Brexit leader Nigel Farage is downplaying a suggestion from Donald Trump that he should be the next British ambassador to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, INTERIM UK INDEPENDENT PARTY LEADER: Well, in normal terms I wouldn't necessarily put the words Farage and ambassador together. However, 2016 has been a year of dramatic change. I think anything is possible. But Mr. Trump may think it's a very good idea, the question is what is Mrs. May think? And so far I have to say, you know, over the last couple of weeks since I met the president-elect I keep saying I would love to play a constructive middleman role, if you like, between the administrations but they don't seem to want me for something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're a career politician.

FARAGE: No, I'm not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've spent decades, though --

FARAGE: No, no, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rallying against the British government policies. And as an ambassador you're effectively a civil servant. And you're rallying and promoting British government policies. And how on earth would you do that with a straight face?

FARAGE: Look, I don't think I'm going to be made the British ambassador. All right. Let's be honest about it. You know, I'm not far off this time. Maybe I'm not the type but I did have 20 years in business before getting involved in politics. I do know how to cut deals. I do have the support, amazingly, of the president-elect and I do know a number of his team, some of whom I've known for years.

[02:10:04] I am very keen for Britain-America to get closer again. And I genuinely -- my critics would say that I've spent my career in politics trying to knock down buildings. Well, now I'd like the chance to try and help build one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Farage says he has no plans to meet face to face with Trump when he visits the U.S. in the next few days.

Well, more than a half century of bloody conflict could be coming to an end with the signing of a peace deal between the Colombian government and its largest rebel group. The president and the leader of the FARC signed the agreement and shook hands on Thursday. Negotiators went back to the table after voters rejected the original deal last month. Most people seem more optimistic about the new agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE MANUEL SANTOS, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): This improved and adjusted agreement, thanks to the contributions of society, incorporates the immense majority of the proposals made while preserving the central objective of the Cartagena agreement. What have we Colombians achieved with this agreement? We have managed

to put an end to the armed conflict with the FARC and lay down the foundations for the construction of stable and lasting peace which is broader and deeper.

We have managed to end the bloodshed and ensure there are no more victims. We are confident about taking up an active role in full legality in coming debates and fair politics. We highlight the importance for the country of the creation of a transitional government whose fundamental objective is the full implementation of the Havana agreements, in which all sectors and forces, which have worked relentlessly to achieved should be incorporated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, the peace deal now goes to Congress where it's expected to be officially endorsed.

Time for a quick break now. Wildfires are raging across parts of Israel and the West Bank. Ahead, who Israel's prime minister says is responsible.

Plus, some Rohingya Muslims say they are fleeing Myanmar because of brutal rape, torture and systematic arson all at the hands of the nation's military. A live report coming up.

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[02:26:14] SESAY: China has ordered all residents of the Xinjang region to surrender their passports. Those who want to travel abroad need to get permission from local authorities. Activists say Beijing is deliberately targeting Muslim Uighurs but the government says -- or has not said, rather, why they are confiscating passports. China has blamed separatists from that minority group for recent attacks. Around 10 million Muslim Uighurs live in the ethnically diverse region.

Myanmar facing more accusations of human rights abuses over its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Some Rohingya refugees say they're fleeing Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh because of violence that has plagued their homes for weeks. Some say they've suffered rape, torture and witnessed family members being killed by the military.

CNN is still working to verify those claims.

Let's bring in CNN's Saima Mohsin who's in Bangkok with more.

And Saima, it is rare to get firsthand accounts of what's happening inside Rakhine State.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Isha. And these are horrific accounts. A lot of the video, there's not much of it that comes out but that gets put on social media is too horrific for us to have included in our report. But we did manage to speak to a group of women who have managed to cross the river to get out to Rakhine State into Bangladesh refugee camp and this is what they have to tell us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHSIN (voice-over): He doesn't know it yet but Abu Hashim (PH) was born into one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, the stateless ethnic minority Rohingya. They are facing yet another crackdown by Myanmar's authorities and their accounts are harrowing.

RASHIDA KHATUN, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (Through Translator): They raped women. Some women died after being tortured. They even killed a newborn baby. After seeing this, I got scared and fled from my home. The same thing could have happened to us.

MOHSIN: Abu's mother Rashida then carried him for four days, trekking day and in night from their home in Maungdaw in a desperate attempt to reach the Naf River and cross into neighboring Bangladesh.

KHATUN (Through Translator): The Myanmar military were shooting heavily. When they fired shots we laid flat on the ground. We kept moving from one village to the other. After that we had to cross the river in the middle of the night.

MOHSIN: Rashida made it across with her loved ones. Her friend Nassima's family was torn apart on the way.

NASSIMA KHATUN, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (Through Translator): When we started our journey there were six of us. We lost three members of our family. My husband and my son were killed and my other son has gone missing.

MOHSIN: CNN can't independently verify these reports or these disturbing videos posted on social media from inside Rakhine State. The Rohingya area is in lockdown with access to media and aid agencies blocked.

JOHN MCKISSICK, UNICEF BANGLADESH: It seems to be the aim of the Myanmar military to ethnically cleanse this population.

MOHSIN: Myanmar's government denies reports of human rights abuses, claiming they are only targeting violent attackers who killed nine border guards on October 9th. Since then, more than 100 people have been killed and around 600 others arrested.

Human Rights Watch also published NASA satellite images which they say shows more than 1200 Rohingya homes that were burned down by the authorities which the government denies saying that attackers carried out the arson.

For the few who managed to flee the violence, they end up here, the squalid refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, southern Bangladesh which is struggling to cope with the influx of thousands of Rohingya.

[02:20:09] Bangladesh has tightened security to push them back. N. KHATUM: We left everything back there to save our lives. Now how

can we go back? They will kill us.

MOHSIN: Now the families here will wait and hope for a chance to live without fear of persecution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MOHSIN: And of course that's incredibly hard, Isha, when you're not welcomed anywhere. They are not welcomed by Rakhine State, they're not welcomed, as we heard in my report, by Bangladesh, and the fear is that once the cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal ends, we'll see yet again those people getting on to boats to make a treacherous journey on with two other countries where they're not welcomed.

You'll remember last year I spent several days at sea trying to search for Rohingya people trapped on boats by traffickers -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. A desperate plight that they are enduring. And Saima, I understand there have been some protests in Bangkok against all of the Rohingya are undergoing.

MOHSIN: Yes. This has been a call out to groups around the world, actually. We believe also across Asia, but so far we know that more than 100 people have gathered outside the Myanmar embassy here in bangkok. They are protesting. They are calling for action. And apparently one of the people there is holding up a letter addressed to Aung San Suu Kyi. They are calling for her to take a stand.

There's huge disappointment and frustration on the part of the Nobel Peace Prize holder. Of course she's not the president of Myanmar but she is very much the most powerful voice of the NLD Party, the civilian government in place there. Many will say that her hands are tied by the military which is very much in charge of the security situation. But a lot of hopes rest on a woman who has led the flag and held the flag up for human rights for many years when she was incarcerated and held in prison in her own home and now she is not speaking out for Rohingya people in the Rakhine State.

And the government in Myanmar continues to refute what they call fabrications by international media about what is taking place in Rakhine State. But as we've seen in my report, these are very much horrific and very real accusations -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. Very horrific situation. Saima Mohsin there, joining us from Bangkok, appreciate it. Saima, thank you for the reporting.

Now wildfires continue to rage across part of Israel and the West Bank. And authorities say there is evidence a number of the fires were caused by arson. An official says at least 10 people have been detained in connection with the blazes which began Tuesday north of Haifa. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told reporters those arsons would be treated as terrorism. He vows to severely punish those responsible for them.

Well, Central America has taken a double hit from Hurricane Otto and an offshore earthquake in the Pacific. The U.S. National Weather Service says the tsunami threat has passed but Otto remains dangerous. It was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Nicaragua on Thursday. It has already been blamed for several deaths in Panama.

Let's go to meteorologist Derek Van Dam who's covering both of those stories for us.

And Derek, what a time it has been for this region.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Isha, just picture this. You are a resident or a tourist just enjoying yourself, expecting a nice holiday.

This is San Rafael del Sur, Nicaragua and you can see people outside of their homes and some of the accommodation within this tourist location because they were fearing a tsunami and the onslaught of a hurricane, which was impending.

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VAN DAM: Back to you.

SESAY: Let us hope so. Derek Van Dam, appreciate it. Thank you.

VAN DAM: All right.

SESAY: Now retailers traditionally call the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Black Friday hoping big sales push their books into the black and the madness -- well, the madness has already started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The doors open at midnight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're here seven hours early.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So we are playing games to kill time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to see vehicles start lining up. We'll have them cued out until 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. until we opened up the main line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Many stores see a hyped additional savings online, some of which have been available since earlier this month. A report from Adobe says Americans have already spent $25.5 billion online this month. A 3.5 percent increase from last year. Wow.

OK. Time for a quick break. "STATE OF AMERICA WITH KATE BOLDUAN" is next for our viewers in Asia. And for everyone else, how about a do- over of the U.S. presidential election? One candidate is calling for a recount and it is not who you might think.

Plus, a look back in history to see how some Jewish people in Italy overcame a tide of intolerance.

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[02:30:20] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly truck bombing in Iraq saying it was in retaliation for the battle in Mosul. At least 80 people, mostly Iranian Shiite pilgrims were killed in Thursday's blast at a gas station southeast of Baghdad.

Israeli authorities have detained at least 10 people in connection with wildfires blazing across parts of Israel and the West Bank. The investigators say there's evidence some of the fires were caused by arson. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to punish anyone who, quote, "tries to burn parts of Israel."

Police in France are searching for a suspect after a woman was found dead inside a retirement home for priests and nuns. Authorities say an armed intruder forced his way into the home and that the woman was the intended target. Police do not think the attack was terror related.

Well, calls for U.S. election recount are gaining momentum. A Web site of Green Party candidate Jill Stein has raised more than $4.5 million for recount costs in three states.

Donald Trump won close victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Votes are still being counted in Michigan, but Trump is in the lead there, also. Some experts say Hillary Clinton's vote totals in areas with electronic voting look low compared to those with paper ballots. They raised concerns that votes tallied electronically may have been hacked. Deadlines to request recounts are fast approaching. Friday in Wisconsin, Monday in Pennsylvania and Wednesday in Michigan.

Our own Paula Newton spoke with Jill Stein about the recount movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL STEIN, GREEN PARTY: Let me say, you know, the anomalies remain to be seen. To my mind, the real concerns here are that we know there was hacking going on all around this election, hacking into voter databases, into party databases, into individual e-mail accounts.

And in addition to that, we know that the voting systems that we use, many of these machines, are wide open to hacking. In fact, some of the machines used in Wisconsin have been made illegal by the state of California after it was proven how easy it is to tamper with them and to install basically malicious programming.

So, you know, it's really unfortunate that the American people are in a position right now where we've very skeptical. We're not only skeptical about the vote and the election, people have a widespread cynicism about our basic institutions of government, about the Supreme Court, about the executive, about Congress, you name it. This was the most --

NEWTON: But what is your -- but what is your skepticism and your cynicism mean? Because some people would take it to mean that you were trying to delegitimize the presidential election that just took place.

STEIN: No. I don't think we don't want to sweep our doubts under the rug. We want to actually stand up and confront them and show, let's show that these vote was valid. We're not saying that there's, you know, specific evidence of fraud here by no means. There's some questions that are raised but those have not yet been proven. What I think what we need is a voting system that should have built in quality assurance.

Do that and all kinds of other things on a medical doctor. We have all kinds of quality assurance built in to our health care and into the delivery of services. We should have quality assurance built into our vote. It shouldn't require proof of a -- you know, of a disaster or proof of fraud in order to install cross checks in to our voting system. We should have built-in audits.

NEWTON: But why --

STEIN: That insured --

NEWTON: We have heard some of this before the vote and yet the states across the board said, look, this voting system is sound. Why now? Why after the vote?

STEIN: Well, you know, I was approached by a variety of computer scientists and election integrity experts who said they now felt that there was a critical mass of evidence that we could prove this in court. And -- well, prove in court not fraud but prove in court that we need reassures, that we need quality assurance built in to the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaking there to Paula Newton there.

Just in to CNN, actress Florence Henderson has died at the age of 82. She was one of TV's iconic moms, the cheerful matriarch of the Brady bunched which first aired in 1969 and returned in various forms throughout the years.

[10:35:00] Her manager says Henderson died of heart failure at the hospital but was not sick. She was surrounded by family and friends.

Well, still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., we travel back half a millennium to the Jewish community in Venice swept up in a tide of intolerance and anti-Semitism yet thriving all the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SESAY: From here in America across to Europe we are seeing a rise in populism and nationalism with rational and anti-Semitic overtones. But history shows how a rich culture blooms even in the shade of intolerance.

Our Ben Wedeman delves into a fascinating past of the Jewish people and their survival in one of the world's first ever ghettos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kids on a field trip enter the Jewish ghetto of Venice. Today the ghetto is clean, calm and quiet. Once it was crammed and chaotic. With thousands of Jews forced by law to live within its walls.

The rulers of Venice created the ghetto, Europe's first, 500 years ago. This year is a bittersweet remembrance for a people who managed to flourish while living in prison, says historian Simon Levis Sullam.

SIMON LEVIS SULLAM, HISTORIAN: We commemorate segregation, exclusion, separation, and we celebrate the fact that Jews were brought together and flourished in cultural terms. And also met and exchanged culture and knowledge and information.

[02:40:10] WEDEMAN: A trading super power, Venice attracted Jews fleeing the Spanish inquisition, wealthy Jewish merchants from the Ottoman Empire and Jewish craftsman and artisans from Germany and elsewhere in the Italian peninsula.

"It was like New York City," Rabbi Shalom Bahbout tells me. "Politically it was an important city because it was a crossroads between East and West." But it was a city where Jews struggled under severe restrictions. Hundreds of Hebrew books were published here, but Jews were banned from owning printing presses.

(On camera): Under the system imposed on the ghetto in 1516, the gates were shut every night. They used to be here. There was, however, an important exception to that rule. Doctors, Jewish doctors were in great demand all over the city, were allowed to come and go as they pleased.

(Voice-over): Narrow canals formed the ghetto's boundaries, boundaries that seem even more restrictive at night.

(On camera): And after the gates were shut at night, Christian guards patrolled the canals around the ghetto to make sure nobody got out or in. And adding insult to injury, the inhabitants of the ghetto were compelled to pay the salaries of their guards.

(Voice-over): The system of segregation came crashing down in 1797 when Napoleon conquered Venice and abolished anti-Semitic laws. The Jews of Venice were quick to move out and move up until the Second World War.

SULLAM: 250 Jews were died in the holocaust, they were tracked and arrested in Venice by Italians and by Germans. And they were of all age.

WEDEMAN: Today, around 400 jus live in Venice, compared to more than 10 times that when the ghetto was at its height. Jews and non-Jews alike have moved away as the economy of Venice has become dominated by tourism.

Psychotherapist Dura Sullam (PH) looks at the ghetto with mixed feelings.

DURA SULLAM, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: For us the ghetto has a completely different meaning. When I was a little girl, the ghetto for me was the place where there were the synagogues. And we would go mainly only to go to the synagogue. And it was not a very nice part of the town. It was quite a poor.

WEDEMAN: Today it's undergoing something of a revival. Attracting Jews from outside Italy.

D. SULLAM: Now I think we really feel it's the heart of the Jewish life.

WEDEMAN: A heart that still beats despite it all.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Venice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Thank you for watching. I'm Isha Sesay. "WORLD SPORT" is up next. You are watching CNN.

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