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Rabbi Serving as Reservist in IDF on Honoring the Victims; Israel Races to Bury The Dead Following Hamas Attacks; Israel Warns Half of Gaza to Evacuate "Southwards"; Protests Erupting Throughout the Middle East; GOP Scrambling after Scalise Drops Out of Speaker's Race. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 13, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

TAMARA ALRIFAI, U.N. RELIEF & WORKS AGENCY SPOKESPERSON: And therefore our -- is the highest political and diplomatic rebel is to allow us to keep a humanitarian space where we're able to operate safely and help those needs. My colleagues in our new location and the South of Gaza just told me now about that nine months old pregnant woman who managed to get into the compound with my colleagues.

We do not know how to deliver her. We have one medic with us, but that person has never delivered babies before. So the situation is very, very dire, we absolutely need to be able to assist these people. And therefore we need to be able to move more safely and without being bombed or targeted to be able to deliver food, clean drinking water, fuel and other kinds of assistance, including psychological assistance to those people in Gaza who are traumatized by the severity of the bombings these last few days.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Tamara Alrifai, thank you for being with us and also our deepest condolences. I know that you have lost I believe it is now a dozen of your colleagues in this entered.

ALRIFAI: -- Thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in Israel, families are starting to bury those killed in Saturday's attack. We're going to speak to a Rabbi in Israel who is helping identify and prepare the bodies for burials, that's next.

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[08:35:00]

HARLOW: So we are learning more of the names of the 25 Americans killed in Saturday's Hamas attacks. Aryeh Shlomo Ziering was a 27 year old dual Israeli American citizen who was a captain in the Israel Defense Forces canine unit. Danielle Waldman attended the music festival where her boyfriend and she were killed. And Itay Glisko was 20 years old and an Israeli soldier his family said his death is, "a loss to humanity". 1300 Israelis have been killed in Hamas's attack that is the count thus far. Now in Israel families are starting to bury the loved ones. Joining us now is Rabbi Elyada Goldwicht reservists working with an Israel Defense Forces Search and Rescue Unit in Central Israel.

Rabbi, thank you for being with us. Your perspective on all of this is so unique because as a rabbi, you are working to comfort those and bury those while also stepping up to serve your country. What is your perspective now six days after the attack?

RABBI ELYADA GOLDWICHT, SEARCH AND RESCUE IN THE IDF: So thank you so much for the opportunity to speak and share what I'm going through on a daily basis. Basically, my role in the Army is to as quickly as possible identify those who were murdered, brutally murdered, raped, killed, in the most tedious ways possible.

And we try to do so as fast as possible, because we know that right now there are hundreds of families in Israel who do not know if their son, daughter, brother, sister, father mother was murdered was taken captive and who knows what's happening to them by, you know, the Hamas or if they're just shell shocked and hidden, you know, under some shelf somewhere.

So we know that every minute that's wasted is a minute that a family is not getting closure and the soldiers on the front line. So we feel that Israel is really right now fighting on two fronts, there's the front of defending ourselves, making sure that the terrorists do not invade.

And murderous like has happened throughout our history, unfortunately, many times that so many thousands of people have tried to annihilate the Jewish people. And then the second front is to give closure to these families as quickly as possible, and really do that in most respectful and dignified way.

HARLOW: Rabbi, as I understand that you have had to do the unthinkable. And that includes holding babies who were killed in this terror attack. How do you even begin to try to comfort their families, while also telling them what has happened to their children?

GOLDWICHT: So thank God, I am not in charge of informing the families, there are different units that do different things I tried to identify as quickly as possible.

HARLOW: Yes.

GOLDWICHT: I can tell you that these hands have held a baby that was murdered. And having children at home, it is the most heart wrenching thing that you can imagine.

HARLOW: Tell people who don't know what Jewish law dictates in terms of how those have shaped who have been killed are buried, because that is very significant as well. GOLDWICHT: So in the eyes of Jewish law, and Jewish custom, we have the utmost respect for the living, but showing the respect for the living is also by showing respect for those who are deceased and those who are killed, and specifically those who were murdered just for being Jews.

There's a special place in heaven, according to Jewish tradition that is for people who were murdered just for the fact that they're Jews, all these some of these people, they were not religious, they didn't, you know, believe in God. But they were killed just for one reason.

And that's because they were that and we take the utmost responsibility. We know that every that these people are holy. And there are a lot of laws that dictate that show us how to respect them. We don't drop a body, God forbid, we lowered slowly, if there's a drop of blood that comes out, we clean it, we make sure that it's buried with the deceased.

We ask forgiveness at the end of dealing with the bodies we tell them we say that we're we apologize if we did something inappropriately. We're doing this for you to, you know, to give you and your family, the comfort and the closure as quickly as possible.

HARLOW: Rabbi, thank you very much for being with us to share your experience and also for all the comfort that I know you are trying to give everyone.

GOLDWICHT: Thank you, if I can just --

HARLOW: Yes.

GOLDWICHT: If I can just say one last thing. Tonight is Friday night, which is the Sabbath. And in Judaism we like two candles every Jewish home we like two candles and some have a custom, that the light a candle for every child that's born. So I have four children. Thank God so my wife besides for the two candles we like for the Sabbath.

We like four other candles to show that every child that is born, adds light to the home. Today there are over 1000 families in Israel who that candle has been extinguished.

[08:40:00]

And what I asked you and your viewers and all those who identify with being good, you know good over evil and love over hate is the next time you see your children to appreciate that to give them a hug, to give them a kiss to realize that they're really light and know that our brothers.

We feel very connected to the American people and we feel much supported by you. And to just know that unfortunately we don't have that a lot of families here don't have that and everyone should really appreciate you know what they do have.

HARLOW: We will do that it is the least we can do, Rabbi, thank you for saying that. GOLDWICHT: Thank you so much.

MATTINGLY: Was the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies there are protests around the Middle East. These are live pictures of a protest and Yemen we're going to continue our live coverage. Stay with us.

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MATTINGLY: This morning Israel's wanting more than 1 million citizens to evacuate Northern Gaza and move south. Joining us now, Republican Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, he's the Vice Chair on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator just to start the scale of the evacuation that would be necessary here that's being called for is extraordinarily complex. Are you concerned about the kind of burgeoning humanitarian crisis that may develop?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Well, I think it does develop it will be Hamas's fault. This is the playbook they have run repeatedly. And Hezbollah to some extent does the exact same thing. And that is they attack Israel, they kill a bunch of Jews and then they retreat back into Gaza.

They hide behind human shields deliberately. They have been messaging for days when they had their TV network running and their radio stations telling people not to leave their homes. So these guys hide behind civilians. Then the attacks come in response and unfortunately, people die.

And then they run to the Global Press and say, look what horrible things Israel is doing and everyone pressures Israel to stop Hamas survives. They come back and kill more Jews again. That's the pattern that continues to repeat itself. So I think for days now, Israel from the very beginning has been messaging that and they take extraordinary steps to try to avoid it.

But when you're killers are literally using human beings as shields and hide behind them. Those guys are in the tunnels.

[08:45:00]

They're down there in the system of tunnels they have with their own bunkers, their own fuel supply, their own food supply and they leave the civilians to die. There these guys don't value life, they don't value any life. And they certainly don't value the lives of their own people and they want to be the government of their own country, which you can only imagine.

So, look, this is a very difficult situation. I just don't know what other option Israel has. How can they possibly coexist with an organization? That doesn't just butcher babies, but has an express an explicit purpose of existing is to drive all Jews out of the region, and create a new country that stretches from the Mediterranean to the Jordan with no Jews and run by a fundamentalist Islamic government like Hamas.

MATTINGLY: Right, Senator, you you're a leading foreign policy voice inside your party in the Senate along with being the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. To that point and I know this is several steps ahead. But what happens then, if Hamas is uprooted, if it's decapitated, if it's defeated, in the frame of ISIS? That's a power vacuum there. That's a governance vacuum. What fills it in that region?

RUBIO: Well, first of all, Hamas has not always governed over Gaza. They allegedly won an election back in 2006. And since then, have not had another one.

MATTINGLY: Do you have faith in the Palestinian Authority to come in, given how they've operated in the West Bank?

RUBIO: Well, that's the complexity of this whole situation, right? And that's when people talk about a two state solution. In order to have that you have to have somebody, some trusted party on the other side that you can work with. You cannot have a two state solution or a negotiation with any entity that exists for the express purpose of your destruction.

Now, I have my own problems with the Palestinian Authority and the things that they have done. But at least in their organizing principles, they acknowledged that there is a role to play for a Jewish state. Now, you know, I don't know how much they mean that. There are obviously some nuances involved in there.

But Hamas exists for the express purpose of destroying Israel and eliminating the Jewish state, in fact that the Hamas argument basically to Palestinians is, trust us instead of the Palestinian Authority, we are even harsher than they are, we will kill more Jews, and we will run them out of here.

And we will create the Palestinian state that stretches all of what we know today to be Israel, not just the West Bank, and not just Gaza. In some respects, these attacks and the ones for 2021 are as much a domestic players they are an anti-Israeli play, it is them trying to position themselves as the most prominent Palestinian faction in the area.

MATTINGLY: Right.

RUBIO: And they believe that kidnapping innocent civilians and murdering babies positions them to do that, to be in that role. And so I get the complexity of it, I am not going to pretend that no one should pretend that they have somewhere in their pocket, some master plan that fixes all this is a deeply complex situation that stretches back frankly, thousands of years.

MATTINGLY: Right.

RUBIO: That said the one thing that's pretty clear is you cannot coexist with an entity that has armaments and the willingness to use them to slaughter your people. You just can't.

MATTINGLY: -- underscore I think the complexity that you're talking about is kind of the moment we're in around the world. But also regionally, we've been showing pictures of this kind of day of protests that has been called for by a Former Hamas Leader. There's an accelerant in a geopolitical situation right now, that is, to be candid, seems very, very dicey. What is your view of how this is going to play out broadly in the region?

RUBIO: Well, I don't again. Yes, I don't think anyone can tell you exactly how it's going to play out. Let me just say one thing, it is one thing to say, I am in favor of Palestinian cause where I think Palestinians are in charge should have their own country, it's one thing to say that I think it's a bit naive at this point.

But it's something that you can be a position, it is another to say and I'm going to take to the streets at the beck and call at the specific construction of the group that just butchered a bunch of babies. OK, that those are two very different things. It's disturbing to see it internationally.

It's really disturbing to see Americans and people here in the United States of America, in the streets marching, in response to a call from the organization that just carried out these atrocities. I think that's very disturbing to see that play out. Now, as far as the region is concerned, look, I think the Jordanians are nervous right about what could happen there and their own streets.

I think the Egyptians are nervous in that regard. And that's why they do not want to allow Palestinian refugees into Egypt. I think multiple countries in the region are nervous about the views of their own population, which is why I think you see some of them put out statements, even as they, from a back doorway, cooperate with Israel on many things, put out the statements because they have their own streets to manage.

So that's a real concern. And then the other obviously is, you know, we have to keep a very close eye as Israel does move into Gaza and tries to eradicate Hamas. What happens then does that now force or trigger a response from Hezbollah, and from Iran and from other elements that aligned with them.

MATTINGLY: Right.

RUBIO: And that's the part that gets, I don't think anybody should sugarcoat this.

[08:50:00]

This is a very dangerous, very volatile, very unpredictable situation, is there's something Israel has to do. They have to get rid of this group, and we should try, to, mitigate against these other things from happening becoming a multi front conflict, but I also think we need to acknowledge that, you know, this is a very uncertain terrain, and a very dangerous one. And I think everyone's nervous about it, including every country in the region, not just Israel.

MATTINGLY: Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

RUBIO: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. Well, here's a live look at Capitol Hill where there is still no Speaker of the House. Republicans are scrambling after Steve Scalise dropped out of the race. So where did they go from here? That's next.

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REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): I just share with my colleagues I have withdrawn my name as a candidate for Speaker designee. If you look at over the last few weeks, if you look at where our conferences, there's still work to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: More upheaval in the House just 24 hours after being nominated Congressman Steve Scalise dropped out of the race for Speaker. Joining us now journalist, author of how's your faith, David Gregory? David, it's great to have you. You've got a lot of perspective on D.C. over the years.

Just when this happened and Phil and I were down in D.C. we kept talking about the fact that well, what if there was a crisis? Right, and I was thinking more domestic crisis, but then there is a crisis on the international stage, that just how can they not coalesce around someone in a moment like this? How do you explain it?

DAVID GREGORY, JOURNALIST: I don't have an explanation. I think it's another embarrassment for the Republican Party. Mike McFaul, who's a very serious lawmaker from Texas from the Homeland Security Committee, said the world is burning, the world is on fire.

HARLOW: Yes.

GREGORY: And we can't seem to come to an agreement on a leader. It's a real problem. I mean, at the end of the week here with all of this chaos among Republicans, but the much graver circumstances around the world, I actually have my eye on Democrats. How long are Democrats going to stand by in the world of identity politics and zero sum politics and not be part of any solution?

We'll see. I think there are more cards to be played before Democrats jump in. But I think people who don't follow this day in and day out, the way we do are looking up and wondering whether Washington has any ability to do their job, to pass bills, to pass legislation, to make sure the government is funded, let alone play a role on the world stage, which is what America is still expected to do.

MATTINGLY: David, do you think people even notice? And I'm not trying, to be flip about it. But there has been so much of this over the course of the last decade plus, which you know, is as well as anybody. And yet this is as absurd and to your point and embarrassing. I'm quoting Republicans when I say that.

HARLOW: Yes.

MATTINGLY: As we've ever seen it and I wonder if people just totally tuned out.

[08:55:00]

GREGORY: Well, I do think there's a lot of tuning I think people just think that politics don't really matter. But they certainly are looking at events around the world and in our country and understanding what the stakes are, whether it's the ferment on college campuses?

And the anti-Semitic left that's playing out in the wake of this Hamas atrocity and act of terror against Israel this week. It's relevant to people's lives when you have kids when their security alerts, when the government is closing down and it might affect whether you can go to work, whether you're going to get paid, whether you're going to get fundamental services.

And I do think people are paying a lot of attention to the consequences of politics that don't work that when government doesn't work, when there's a fear of your freedom being abridged of institutional breakdown. Those things do start to creep in. This is not just a debate about higher taxes, or other events that can seem more benign over the past decades, this is front and center stuff up.

HARLOW: David, Phil has been asking the crucial question all morning and for the past couple of days. You just asked Senator Rubio, it's anytime we asked Naftali Bennett, the Former Israeli Prime Minister. So what's next, if Israel successful in wiping out Hamas, what is next to fill the vacuum?

And I wonder your thoughts on that, because Gosh, that has to be at the forefront of Israelis minds that the administration's mind?

GREGORY: Well, it's the crucial question. Yes. And there's I think a lot of ugliness to play out. I think from the point of view of the Biden administration, if you think about how the President has reacted this week with, I think, refreshing moral clarity about what this was a terrorist attack against Israel.

I think one of the reasons he's done that and is so stalwart in his support for Israel is to have influence over some of those questions about what is next? You worry about a two front row war and the role of Hezbollah in the north. Is there an opportunity here to perhaps empower the Palestinian Authority?

American governments going back to George W. Bush have been 100 percent behind a two state solution, the creation of a Palestinian state. And President Biden, his administration would support that as well. But you've got to have real Palestinian leadership. Hamas is not leadership, Hamas is terrorism.

Hamas is just wants to destroy Israel. There's no negotiation with Hamas. The Palestinian Authority has at least the potential as Senator Rubio was alluding to. To be a real partner is problematic is that it's been over the years. So I think that's what you look for down the road.

But I think the intermediate step is the extent to which President Biden and his team have the ability to have any influence over what's about to transpire in Gaza, over the days and weeks to come, which I'm sure is going to be just a continuation of the horror, and the ugliness of what we've seen, because it is a war and I think the Israeli leadership has made very clear what they're prepared to do now.

MATTINGLY: David Gregory, we appreciate your time and insight, as always.

GREGORY: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Thank you.

GREGORY: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: And CNN is following all the developments on the ground in Israel. CNN'S "News Central" picks up right after this break. Have a good weekend.

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