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American Teen Held in Israel over Protest; Is U.S. Helping or Hurting in Middle East; ESPN Host Apologizes for Comments on Domestic Violence

Aired July 29, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another reminder for you, a little later this morning, in a few minutes, we expect the Secretary of State John Kerry will be coming out with the Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin. They've been meeting all morning long. The violence seems to be escalating in Ukraine and I think perhaps that they will talk about that and more. Also the crash site of Flight 17 as well.

So when they take the podiums, we'll take you back live to Washington.

In the Israeli-Hamas conflict, much of the attentions falls on the devastation like a huge plume of smoke and dust that just blossomed over Gaza City. Less spectacular but no less dramatic is the case of a 15-year-old American boy. He is being held in Israeli custody and the United States is voicing its concerns.

Elise Labott is CNN's global affairs correspondent. She joins us live from the State Department to tell us more about this.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. We're talking about Mohammed Abu Nie. He's a 15-year-old Palestinian American arrested about three weeks ago by Israeli authorities after being suspected of throwing rocks, carrying a knife. Serious charges, of course, but the United States, the State Department is saying that he's 15 years old. He's been in custody for three weeks and they would really like to see this resolved as soon as, possible -- Carol.

You know, this comes on the heels of another Palestinian American, a teenage boy who was beaten in Israeli custody and the U.S. is concerned about charges that this young man might be also being abused in prison -- Carol.

COSTELLO: On another note, Elise, the Secretary of State John Kerry, he's become the brunt of international criticism for his push for a cease-fire. Tell us about that.

LABOTT: Well, if you look at the Israeli press over the last several days, Carol, there's been a lot of articles written about Secretary Kerry that he ruined everything with his cease-fire proposals, kind of on the heels of his trip to the Middle East. What the State Department and even the White House response was very swift and strong saying that there's no better friend of Israel than Secretary Kerry and that a lot of his cease-fire proposals were misconstrued -- Carol.

The Israelis were saying that he was kind of treating Hamas' demands equal to Israel's security needs. That's now what the State Department and Secretary Kerry say that he was saying. Basically what he wants to do is have an immediate end to the fighting, both sides stop the fighting and then have some larger negotiations on both sides about some of these underlying issues resolving the conflict because that's really the only way, Carol, we're going to be not be doomed to be here two years from now.

On the Israeli side that means, of course, dealing with those tunnels, dealing with Hamas rocket fire, and the larger issue of demilitarization of Hamas in Gaza but the Palestinians do have demands which the foremost are easing the blockades of Gaza. You know, the humanitarian situation -- very dire there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Elise Labott, thanks so much.

More specifically after John Kerry failed to get that cease-fire he does find himself a target of growing criticism. Israel's top newspaper says Kerry, in its words, ruined everything.

And here at home, the "Washington Post" David Ignatius says Kerry committed quote, "a big blunder". He writes in part, quote, "Kerry's error has been to put so much emphasis on achieving a quick halt to the blood shed that he has solidified the role of Hamas in the process. He has under cut not simply the Israelis but also the Egyptians and the Fatah movement that runs the Palestinian authority all of which want to see an end to Hamas rule in Gaza."

Joining me now to talk about this Republican Congressman, Luke Messer of Indiana -- welcome sir.

REP. LUKE MESSER (R), INDIANA: Hi glad to be here.

Glad to have you here. Congressman, do you agree that Kerry committed a big blunder.

MESSER: Yes. I mean there's no question that his actions, while maybe well-intentioned -- I mean everyone would like to see a cease- fire there -- have legitimized Hamas. And what we need to be doing is being very clear about our support for Israel. Any decent human being that sees what's happened in recent days in Gaza can't help but be heartbroken but we need to be clear as a country that the cause of all this is Hamas.

COSTELLO: Congressman, do you believe Secretary Kerry legitimatized Hamas? Is that what you said?

MESSER: Well, I mean -- not just I believe that. The "Washington Post" says that and leaders all over the world have said that. I think there's very real risk here that we draw some -- that there are parallels to what happened in Egypt.

You know, this administration blundered there, came out in a way that looked like they were supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood. And of course, we all saw what happened in Egypt over a period of a couple of years. What we need to be doing is being clear in our support of Israel's right to defend itself and telling Hamas they need to demilitarize in that area.

COSTELLO: What should Secretary Kerry have done?

MESSER: I think what I just articulated. We need to be clear and the administration has tried to be clear, but we need to be clear that we stand with Israel. We support Israel's right to defend itself and that we stand with Israel and their demands that Hamas demilitarize and live by a cease-fire. As you well know, while well intentioned we've gone through several cease-fires here that Hamas has essentially ignored.

COSTELLO: Well, who should Secretary of State Kerry have negotiated with or should the United States just stay out of it?

MESSER: I think we need to do what we can to empower the Palestinian Authority. We also need to be supportive of Egypt and its efforts, Jordan -- we have allies in that region that would be good honest brokers in dealing with the Palestinian citizens. You know, the problem is Hamas is a terrorist group and they have shown themselves to be focused on violence, not peace.

COSTELLO: So the fighting does continue in Israel and many civilians are being killed in Gaza. Should Israel continue its fight? Should it stop? What do you think?

MESSER: I mean listen, everyone is heartbroken to see the events in Gaza. No one is happy to see the death and destruction that is occurring there. We just need to be clear as to why this is happening. It's happening because Hamas has refused to recognize Israel. It's happening because Hamas has been violent and attacked Israel. It's not, you know, this is not something Israel wanted but Israel is standing up and defending itself and frankly I support Benjamin Netanyahu in his efforts to say that if no one else will demilitarize that region, Israel will.

COSTELLO: Does it matter how many civilians are being killed? I mean isn't that a sad fact of war? How would you characterize that?

MESSER: Of course, I mean it's tragic and sad. I think everybody recognizes that. No one takes any joy in this, and of course, if Hamas were to demilitarize, if Hamas were to recognize Israel, this would all end tomorrow.

We all hope for peace in the region. I think we need to be clear that we stand with our ally in that region of the world, Israel, and, you know, again I think the administration is right to try to put an end to the violence there, let's just be careful we're not emboldening and empowering Hamas as we do it.

COSTELLO: Republican Congressman Luke Messer of Indiana -- thanks so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

MESSER: Thank you. COSTELLO: Still to come in the newsroom, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith apologizes after his take on the brutal fight between NFL star Ray Rice and his then-fiancee sparked outrage. My question for Stephen and others, why is it the woman's fault?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is sorry; sorry that he suggested women sometimes provoke men into battering them. He made that unfortunate suggestion in response to the weak punishment meted to star running back Ray Rice by the NFL for knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN A. SMITH, ESPN: On Friday, speaking right here on "First Take" on the subject of domestic violence, I made what can only amount to the most egregious error of any career. I ventured beyond the scope of our discussion by alluding to a woman's role in such heinous matters, going so far as to use the word "provoke" in my diatribe. It is not what I was trying to say. Yet the failure to clearly articulate something different lies squarely on my shoulders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It is nice that Smith apologized but I wonder if ESPN will do what it aught to do -- suspend Smith. Look, in 2012, the management at ESPN expressed outrage when two employees used the phrase "chink in the armor" while referencing Jeremy Lin, the Asian basketball player. One employee was suspended was suspended for 30 days and the other was fired.

So why is ESPN giving Smith a pass? Your Twitter comments are scrolling at the bottom of the screen, by the way. With me now to talk about this, Mel Robbins, CNN legal analyst and Jan Langbein, CEO of the Genesis Women's Shelter and Support. Welcome.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks Carol.

COSTELLO: Jan, I'll -- I'm glad you are both here. Jan, I'm going to pose that question to you. Should Smith be suspended?

JAN LANGBEIN, CEO, GENESIS WOMEN'S SHELTER AND SUPPORT: You know, I truly hope that the story does not become about Smith. I hope we can keep our eye on the ball. My hope is that his apology was genuine, but what I do know is he's helped this country have a dialog about taking the word from "provoke" to "safety plan", to maybe stop asking the question "why doesn't she just get out" and taking that to "why did he do it in the first place".

I hope we keep our eye on the ball and not forget that Ray Rice did this horrible crime.

COSTELLO: And Mel, I hope so too. I just wish ESPN would have done more than just make Smith apologize -- I'm sure he wanted to apologize. I don't want to -- (CROSSTALK)

ROBBINS: Look, they're not going to do more -- Carol. They're not going to do more. You know, you referenced an incident in 2012 where they suspended folks for making comments about race and that you also asked a question of us, Carol, why aren't they suspending when they do it in other cases.

In this country, race is a much bigger hot button issue unfortunately than violence against women. And until it becomes a hot button issue, the way that we react to race instinctively with an outrage, then nothing is going to change.

In 2012, guys, he said the exact same thing regarding Chad Johnson. He used the words in an incident with Chad Johnson where Chad Johnson was accused of kicking his wife in the head that we got to look at provocation here. And he also said he was sick and tired of men being vilified. And ESPN did nothing and it flew under the radar screen.

He's also the guy, by the way, that defended the former NFL coach who said that I would never have Michael Sam on my team because it's a huge distraction. And so ESPN makes a lot of money off this guy running his mouth.

And here's the other thing. He may have apologized, but it was pre- taped and nothing says sincere like a pre-taped apology.

COSTELLO: I know.

ROBBINS: Instead of having a bigger conversation about it, wait a minute, you didn't get to say what you meant, what did you mean exactly by that? Because he also hasn't explained. Perhaps, given that he has four sisters, perhaps what he meant to say is we need to have more conversations about how to protect women.

COSTELLO: Yes, he needed those strong women who raised him to demand answers.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBBINS: Come on.

COSTELLO: I agree with you Mel. And Jan, you are a much nicer person than either of us are, I must say because I really do think he should be suspended or at least Michelle Beedle his colleague. She tweeted and said she was appalled by what he said. Why didn't ESPN have her on to question him? Wouldn't that have been interesting?

ROBBINS: That would have been fantastic. That would have been fantastic -- Carol.

LANGBEIN: You know Carol --

COSTELLO: Go ahead Jan.

LANGBEIN: You know Carol, every twelve seconds in this country, a woman is assaulted and that's a mom and a sister and a daughter. And I have to say that so often this is thought of as a women's issue but we know because that men are fathers and sons and brothers that they also have -- they are impacted by domestic violence because the women in their lives are impacted by domestic violence.

I applaud the outrage across the country. I absolutely hope it doesn't stop because when it does stop that's when it is not only tolerated, it is perpetrated. It is silenced. It is a joke. It is an attitude. It is a comment that creates what I call a two-game accountability.

I do think we all should stand up, men and women, black and white, Democrats and Republicans and say we have zero tolerance in our community, in our locker room, in our homes and if it's not ok in my home, it shouldn't be ok with -- that it's in your home.

COSTELLO: I think one of the big problems Mel is domestic violence is not only misunderstood but it is sometimes glorified. That's why this Rice punishment and what Smith said so offends me. If you want an example of what I'm talking about, I'll give you one -- Rihanna. A victim of domestic violence herself singing with Eminem -- I'm sure you remember this video.

ROBBINS: Yes I do.

COSTELLO: Let's watch.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: So the lyrics really disturbed me because -- because "I like the way it hurts", right? So the video suggests it's kind of exciting to be abused, you know. You get in a big physical fight with your boyfriend and, yea, we get to have make-up sex afterwards and that's certainly not what domestic abuse is about, is it Jan?

LANGBEIN: It's absolutely not what it's about. Domestic abuse is all about power and control and the message that is being sent through music or video games of societal or sports fans -- I mean sports stars is that somehow it is ok.

I completely agree with you. It should never be ok. It should never be glorified. It is a crime. It is pervasive. It is sometimes deadly. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States. We have to stand up and say "no more".

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And Mel, one more thing I just want to point out Mel -- one more thing, is that Pink Rice jerseys for women are still for sale.

ROBBINS: Are you kidding me? Ladies, guess what, you can wear his number on your back with little crystal embellishments. It's disgusting. I'm so glad you brought up that Rihanna song.

When that song came out, I was so disappointed. I said, oh my God, here you are a victim and now you're singing a song that glorifies it. I actually printed out the lyrics, Carol, and had my daughters read them and we were -- thankfully they were disgusted by it.

The one thing I want to just end with is to basically say when somebody uses the word "provoke", when you are talking about violence against women, what you are implying is that somehow she did something to deserve it. And in this case the witnesses told the police that they saw a woman spit on Ray Rice and he upper cut her in response.

And so basically I don't care what the guy says, Stephen Smith, in terms of never lay your hands, I will never do something like this. The second you talk about provocation, you are telling the world that women do something to deserve it and that is utter BS and it's dangerous -- absolutely dangerous.

COSTELLO: I absolutely agree. I do.

LANGBEIN: Carol -- Carol can I -- if I can just --

COSTELLO: Last word, Jan.

LANGBEIN: Yes, we were talking about -- you were talking about the football jersey. What if the NFL took ending domestic violence on as a signature issue? What if those jerseys were purple or they were purple ribbons or the national domestic hot line 1-800-799-safe was flashed on the scoreboard. What if we as a country could create a societal paradigm shift? We've done it with smoking. We've done it with friends don't let friends drive drunk. Let's do this again with ending domestic violence.

COSTELLO: I like that, Jan. Thank for the suggestion. Mel Robbins, Jan Langbein -- thanks for the great conversation. I have to end it there because believe me, I wish I could go on.

Also to my viewers, you can read my op-ed at cnn.com/opinion and of course, follow me @CarolCNN. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 55 minutes past, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has sent another 150 agents down to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The additional agents arrived yesterday doubling the number of agents patrolling the region. Right now, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on immigration and how to handle the issue of undocumented children from Central America crossing into the United States illegally.

Shelly Sterling has won a key battle but the war is not over. A California probate judge rules that the sale of the L.A. Clippers can go forward. An attorney for Shelly Sterling says the $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer could be completed by the middle of next month. Donald Sterling's attorneys plan to appeal the judge's ruling.

Southwest Airlines is facing a $12 million fine after the FAA said the airline violated the repair orders on some of its Boeing 737 jets. The FAA says Southwest did not follow proper procedures for replacing fuselage skins on 44 of its aircraft. Southwest has 30 days to respond.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Good morning, and welcome to "@THIS HOUR WITH JOHN BERMAN AND MICHAELA PEREIRA".

Secretary of State John Kerry is speaking from the State Department about the situation in Ukraine. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We meet today less than two week after Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was tragically shot out of the sky in the separatists' controlled territory of Ukraine. And the victims of that crash and their families clearly deserve a thorough international investigation that is unimpeded in any respect so that people have access to the site, so that the families can know that their loved ones have been treated with the decency that any family anywhere in the world would expect in these circumstances.

The United States supports a thorough international investigation into this heinous act. And we support the efforts of the Malaysians, Dutch, and Australians to help the Ukrainians in order to secure the site so that those investigations can take place now. They are overdue and it is absolutely important for the separatists to stand back and permit this access to take place.

The work of the investigators is absolutely critical. It's been ten days since this plane went down, and investigators have still not received full unfettered access to the crash site and without this access, they have no way to collect debris, no way to collect other evidence from the scene in order to be able to provide the kind of examination that is necessary.

They still can't even ensure that all of the victims' remains have been removed, and that is an unsupportable burden for any family to have to bear and it is an unacceptable standard for behavior, period.

The site has to be cordoned off. The evidence has to be preserved, and Russia needs to use its considerable influence among the separatists in order to be able to help ensure this basic approach of common decency.