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Dozens Killed in Crash at Religious Festival in Israel; Fear, Anger and Heartbreak As COVID Cases & Deaths Mount in India; Crisis in Myanmar: Clashes Between Military & Armed Ethic Groups. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired April 30, 2021 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:00:22]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, dozens are killed in a crash of people at a mass religious festival in Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This isn't a hospital or even a clinic. It's a Sikh temple. But for these people who
have already been turned away at so many hospitals, this is their last chance at survival.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: India staggering under the onslaught of COVID, as a deluge of death overwhelms the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we cannot destroy this government, we must feel we are not secure all the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: And CNN gets an exclusive look at armed fighters doing battle with Myanmar's military government.
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KINKADE: It's 5:00 p.m. at Mount Meron, Israel, 7:30 in New Delhi, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta.
Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Welcome to the program.
Somebody probably fell down and we rolled over each other. Those chilling words of a survivor what's being called one of the worst peacetime
disasters in Israeli history, 45 people now confirmed dead after apparently being rushed at religious festival in northern Israel. It happened in a
passageway and you can see how crammed people were there.
Well, around 150 people were treated for injuries, and this is the awful aftermath today. The festival drew tens of thousands of ultra orthodox
Jews, the biggest such gathering since the pandemic began.
Well, people came to the festival for a night of singing and dancing and fun and many of them left traumatized. Take a listen to this young man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WICE ISRAEL, WITNESS TO ISRAEL CRUSH (through translator): I was there. Inside the bonfire it was crowded. There were around 60,000 to 70,000
people, no place to move. People started to fall to the ground. A lot fell to the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Hadas Gold went to the very ground where this tragedy unfolded and she walks us through a night of chaos and carnage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the site of what the Israeli ambulance service is calling one of the worst civil disasters in Israeli
history. What happened? Around 1:00 a.m., while tens of thousands of worshippers were here celebrating the Lag B'Omer holiday, crowds of people
were trying to exit and enter along this ramp here and they started slipping and sliding all over each other and a tangle of bodies.
Authorities are now saying 45 people were sadly killed and more than 100 injured. They still don't know what caused the chaos of that night. The
police are investigating. The commander of the northern region has already taken responsibility. The Israeli attorney general has called for an
investigation and Prime Minister Netanyahu has called for a day of mourning, because this event takes place every year. And this is the first
time such a tragedy has befallen the tens of thousands of worshippers who gathered here to celebrate the Lag B'Omer holiday to be close to the tomb
of an ancient rabbi.
And what was supposed to be an evening of revelry, of singing, of dancing turned into an evening of tragedy.
Hadas Gold, Mount Meron, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Now with the gruesome and heart wrenching process of identifying the dead, CNN's Elliott Gotkine is at the facility where loved ones of the
victims gathered, and he joins us live.
Elliott, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says some of the victims are children, and obviously, the process now under way to try to identify the
victims.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Yes, it is a grisly task. This is what's going on in the building on the other side of those trees now. We
understand that over the last three to four hours, the bodies have been brought here. The death toll, as you said, stands at 45 right now.
And inside that building is, of course, the task of the families and friends and loved ones of those who are concerned that perhaps their loved
ones and their family members are among the dead are inside trying to identify the bodies to see if their loved ones have been included in that
toll.
Now, there are about 20 people critically injured still in hospital. So, sadly, that toll could yet rise. The overall number of injured was in
excess of 100, but the health ministry says most of those people were suffering from broken bones, they were treated and then sent home.
So, that is the current situation right now.
[10:05:01]
KINKADE: OK. Elliott Gotkine, we will leave it there for now. We are going to continue to follow the investigation in the aftermath of this tragedy.
You want to stay with CONNECT THE WORLD. In about 20 minutes, we'll meet Rabbi Shlomo Katz. He was on his way to the Meron gathering but was delayed
and that delay may have saved his life.
And next hour, we'll talk to one of the directors of Israel's emergency response service which treated dozens of people injured at the scene. We'll
get his perspective on the tragedy and the situation on the ground.
We're now to the coronavirus pandemic and a grim global milestone passed today. John Hopkins University reports the number of confirmed COVID-19
cases worldwide gas topped 150 million. Nearly 19 million of those cases are in India, which has broken daily global records for new cases almost
everyday this week. Another 386,000 today and nearly 3,500 more deaths.
As we've mentioned all this week, health experts believe the actual number of sick and dead is far higher than reported figures. This is what it looks
like in a neighborhood in Delhi today, a long line of people waiting to get oxygen for their stricken loved ones.
Hospitals in makeshift medical centers are getting overrun with patients, many to be turned away. The head of intensive care in New Delhi talking to
CNN earlier, saying what she is seeing there is nothing short of an apocalypse.
Our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in New Delhi, India's hardest hit city. She witnessed the fear, the anger, the heartbreak
that so many are feeling right now. And we need to warn you, some of the images in her report are difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Delhi now, you're never far from heartbreak. Almost everyone in the city
has been visited by grief.
At this Seepamuri crematorium, the loss weighs heavily in the smoldering air, and the dead are piling up.
There are bodies literally everywhere you turn here. I have honestly never seen anything quite like it. And the organizers say that pre-COVID, they
might cremate 7 or 8 people a day. Today alone, they have already cremated 55 bodies, and it's not even lunchtime.
Just months ago, India's leadership boasted that the country had effectively defeated COVID. Now, it has set global records for new cases as
a terrifying second wave ravages the country.
Yutander Singh Shante (ph) says he and his men don't even stop to take breaks, and still, they can barely cope with the flow.
A volunteer approaches. They've run out of tables for the bodies, he says, then adds that his mother died from COVID the night before.
You must be tired?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very. But this is not the time for the rest.
WARD: Do you believe the government figures, the death tolls, the COVID figures they are giving, or do you think the real figures are much higher?
The numbers that you're seeing on television are the numbers of people who are dying in hospitals, he says. They're not factoring in the people who
died at home in isolation. If those numbers are added, the actual number will go up by three times.
To keep up with the mounting numbers, the crematorium has been forced to expand, creating an overflow area in a neighboring car park.
Sham Sharma (ph) is saying goodbye to his 45-year-old younger brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night, I was thinking his health was improving, but suddenly, the doctor called my mobile phone that your brother has
expired.
WARD: Do you think his death could have been prevented?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. I think we can save -- we can save him with better health hospital.
WARD: India's health care system is at a breaking point, unable to cope with the scale of the crisis, its people are left to fend for themselves.
This crowd has been waiting for 6 hours to the chance to get some oxygen. They can't rely on the state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother --
WARD: Your mother, how old is she?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-seven.
WARD: Is her oxygen very low?
[10:10:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's in very critical condition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-eight percent and we are trying since morning, but we are not getting the oxygen anywhere.
WARD: How many places have you've been to?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen.
WARD: Nineteen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, since morning, since 6:00 a.m.
WARD: Have you tried taking her to the hospital?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no beds.
WARD: There are no beds?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before four days, we have tried to so much, but we didn't get any beds.
WARD: Freah Shevastriva (ph) was lucky enough to find her mother a place in a hospital, only to find out there was no oxygen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) What should I do? I am so scared of what will happen with my mom.
WARD: Are you angry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so angry because the disorganization. Our government is so careless. They even don't care about what public is
suffering. They don't know from which thing we are suffering. There are so many people standing over there and fighting for this thing.
WARD: Her mother is now in critical condition. Like many here, she feels completely overwhelmed.
For those who can't source their own oxygen, this is the only option, a drive-in oxygen center by the side of the road. A woman arrives unconscious
in a rickshaw. Several hospitals have already turned her away. They simply didn't have the beds.
Now, she is relying on the kindness of strangers. Her sons work desperately to try to revive her.
This isn't a hospital or even a clinic. It is a Sikh temple, but for these people who have already been turned away from so many hospitals, this is
their last chance at survival.
The leader of the Sikh charity that runs this facility says it gets no support at all from the government. He says he already had COVID twice, but
he and his volunteers continue to work 24 hours a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to save their lives. This is our heart's voice.
WARD: It must hurt your heart to see the way your people are suffering?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, madam. Many times, we cry also at what is going on.
WARD: It is impossible to escape the tragedy of this vicious second wave. Coronavirus is ravaging the old, but it has not spared India's young.
The prime minister has announced that everyone over the age of 18 can get the vaccine, but with less than 2 percent of the country inoculated, that
offers only a distant hope.
So, India's capital continues to burn, suffocated by the rampant spread of this deadly virus, a city and a country brought to its knees, praying for
respite.
(EN VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And Clarissa Ward joins me now from New Delhi.
And, Clarissa, there are queues for oxygen, for treatment, for beds, even queues for bodies to be cremated, it all seems so overwhelming.
WARD: I think overwhelming is exactly the word to describe it, Lynda. I mean, I don't know if you can see the sun has come down. There's a very
long line of people just behind me. It snakes all the way around the block. Some of these people have been waiting here since 5:00 in the morning. Some
say they even came last night.
And they're waiting for oxygen. It's not something that you or I would ever think to have to line up for, to wait for. But here in India now, in the
midst of this tragedy and this crisis, oxygen has become a precious commodity. Many hospitals simply don't have enough to give to their
patients. And that's why people are forced to come here day in and day out and get in this line, carrying these heavy cylinders hoping to fill them
with oxygen so they can give it to their parents, their family members, their grandchildren, whoever it might be in their family, who is suffering
from this horrendous second wave.
And while they're waiting patiently for their turn to get this life-saving second gas, there is a growing sense here, Lynda, of very real frustration,
particularly with the government.
[10:15:05]
There's a sense that a lot of this could have been avoided and certainly that it could have been better prepared for -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Yeah, it certainly seems, Clarissa, that this second wave caught them completely by surprise. As you say, there's this desperate need for
oxygen.
What else do they desperately need? What sort of international aid is now arriving?
WARD: So, I mean, the world is really pulling together here and trying to stand in solidarity with India. There is a raising awareness, I think,
globally, until everyone is protected or vaccinated no one in the world is actually safe from coronavirus. People have been donating a lot of
vaccines, a lot of oxygen, remdesivir.
But there is a sense here on the ground, at the same time, while that is appreciated, that it's not enough. This is a health care system that is
essentially on the brink of collapse. So, there need to be very fundamental systemic changes put in place. There need to be huge amounts of money and
infrastructure funneled into changing the current situation and making sure that a third wave doesn't come down the line.
And what's sort of staggering to get your head around, Lynda, is that we're not even at the peak yet of this second wave. Scientists saying it could be
another two or three weeks. How long can these people come out day in, day out, and wait for hours on end for oxygen. This is not a sustainable
situation.
And unless the government is able to get control over it, many, many more people are going to die, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yeah, two or three weeks is a very long time to wait in such a critical situation. I want to ask a little bit more about the vaccine
rollout, because we know that India is the largest producer of vaccines in the world yet such a small percentage of the population have been
vaccinated.
Give us a sense of how that campaign is rolling out.
WARD: So, just yesterday, the prime minister said everyone over the age of 18 as of tomorrow, May 1st, should be able to get vaccinated. But already,
several states have come forward and said, we're not ready for that. We can't cope with that. We don't have all the materials in place.
You know, you touched on something important earlier, Lynda, which was that the government here was almost doing a victory lap a few months ago. They
thought they had gotten through the worst of COVID. And they were actually giving away the materials for vaccines in some cases to, you know, to the
international community, trying to play their part because they thought they had escaped the worst of it.
Now, it's a much more complicated picture. Keep in mind, this is an enormous country, 1.4 billion people. A lot of them right now don't want to
go out on the streets and get in a long line like this one, even if it's they're waiting for vaccines -- sorry. There's a slightly chaotic situation
here because people are coming and going all the time trying to get their oxygen.
So, a lot of people don't want go out and get in a line like this where there is no social distancing, even if it means they can get a vaccine.
Some of those states, they're not ready for that kind of demand, for those kinds of numbers.
So, it is still very much a chaotic situation here despite whatever vows the government may be making.
KINKADE: Yeah. Clarissa Ward, thanks to you and the team there in New Delhi. Stay safe. We will speak to you again soon. Thank you.
Well, to give you some perspective, not all of India is experiencing this second wave with equal severity. The national capital territory Delhi is by
far the worst affected populous area, and states in southern and western India are seeing higher case levels per capita basis than states in the
east.
And as you just heard from Clarissa, starting tomorrow, everyone in India age 18 and over is eligible to get vaccinated. But some say they don't have
enough supply and we'll have to delay the expanded rollout.
CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, expects this already terrible crisis to get even worse in the weeks ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You have a 20 to 25 percent positivity rate, more than 300,000 people being officially
diagnosed, which suggests that the numbers of new, newly infected people everyday could be over a million if you do the math on that, and we know
that the number of people who are diagnosed a few weeks after that is when you see the real surge in hospitalizations and then a few weeks after that,
the surge in death.
So, the hospitalizations are what they are now. I mean, what are the next 4 to 6 weeks going to look like as this gets a lot worse?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:20:00]
KINKADE: Well, as the crisis continues, there are many ways you can help in India cope with this devastating COVID outbreak. Just go to
CNN.com/impact to find out how.
Well, India's neighbors are watching the crisis unfold particularly in Nepal. Take a look at the spike Nepal has seen in recent days. The
country's health ministry says demand for oxygen has gone up three-fold in the past week and that the country has ordered 20,000 oxygen cylinders from
abroad.
Well, the pandemic is a big threat to Nepal's tourism industry. There have been reports of COVID cases at Everest base camp, just as hundreds of
climbers around the world look to climb that mountain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two sources from base camp tell CNN there have been dozens of suspected COVID-19 cases there in the past few
weeks, but a spokesman for Nepal's tourism department deny that there have been any cases there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Yeah, next hour from CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, she'll tell us what happened to one climber who says he got infected there.
The streets of Istanbul are deserted, no longer packed with people running errands as Turkey begins its very first national lockdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just about everybody says this will be a tough one. It's the first day of Turkey's longest
lockdown to date, set to last until May 17th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the aerial footage from today gives another look at how empty the city has become. The strict lockdown measures come as Turkey sees
the highest infection rates in all of Europe and further delays in its vaccine rollout.
With so many hotspots in the world right now, we continue to keep an eye on one of the biggest, Brazil, becoming the second country in the world to
surpass 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus. Experts warn the crisis is not getting any better any time soon. We're going to have a live report next
hour.
And after two decades, U.S. troops officially on their way out of Afghanistan. We look at the departure will have on the country they leave
behind.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we need to try to stop the regime like this. We need to destroy the dictatorship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A rebel army leader in Myanmar speaks exclusively to CNN as fighting escalates between the military and insurgents. That's all ahead.
Stay with us.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I had to flee across the river. People say the Burmese will come and shoot us, so we fled here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: People living on both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border along the Salween River being terrorized by military air strikes. Months into the
coup in Myanmar, they're on the front lines between the escalating in fighting between military and insurgent groups.
[10:25:05]
And it gets even worse in Myanmar. The U.N. says if you combine the impact of COVID-19 with February's deadly coup, almost half the country's
population could be forced into poverty by the end of this year.
The U.N. Development Program points to rising food costs, lost of income, crumbling basic services such as banking and healthcare, a toxic mix that
could make up to 25 million people, that's about 48 percent of Myanmar, even more vulnerable.
CNN's Paula Hancocks spoke exclusively with the leader of a rebel army about the crisis in Myanmar. Take a listen..
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Late last month, ethnic armed fighters staged a surprise attack. An intense gun battle, ending with
the fall of one of Myanmar's military guard posts in Karen state along the border with Thailand.
The Karen National Liberation Army took eight soldiers prisoner. Their leader, speaking exclusively to CNN, says that they are treating them
humanely. Treatment they would not expect, if the tables were turned.
GEN. SAW BAW KYAW HEH, KNLA CHIEF OF STAFF: I see the Burmese dictatorship is very evil, very bad. So, I cannot feel, I cannot stay like that. So, I
want to tell all people in my country here, we need to cooperate together.
HANCOCKS: The military has not acknowledged that soldiers are missing. But three state-run media accused the KNLA of violating the 2015 cease-fire, a
cease-fire that ethnic groups say ended when the military seized power.
The military did say there would be repercussions, and within hours, airstrikes began on a terrorized population.
Children's photos still hang on the wall of this destroyed school, a broken lesson schedule, listing math, English, science, a symbol of a routine,
that has been shattered.
The villages already flooded, so no one was hurt in this airstrike. But, most are now too scared to go home, in case the fighter jets return.
Humanitarian groups believe more than 20,000 are displaced in the Karen state alone, hiding in the jungles.
This mother says, my children have diarrhea, and now, so do the adults. There is no clean water or food.
This man says his 6-year-old son is killed in an airstrike. They buried him where he died.
He says when the fighter jets came, his grandmother took him far away from the home. But the jet dropped its bomb at the spot they had fled to. My son
was injured, and then died.
Some have tried to cross the border into Thailand, but say, they were pushed back by a Thai military. The borders closed due to COVID-19.
Humanitarian aid groups are calling on the government to allow them to cross. Thailand says it will provide aid, but will not take sides.
This is becoming a familiar sight in some of Myanmar's ethnic areas. Deserted villages, livestock roaming free and feels neglected. Planting
season should start within weeks. If it doesn't, United Nations warnings, and rising hunger, and desperation, will be exacerbated.
GEN. SAW BAW KYAW HEH: If we cannot destroy this government, we must feel we are not secure all the time. So, we need to try to stop the regime like
this. We need to destroy the dictatorship.
HANCOCKS: Fighting this week is so close to the border, it can be seen from Thailand. Burning guard posts, lighting up the night sky. Then, dawn
breaks on a new day of violence in Myanmar.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Bangkok.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, no one knew that the September 11 attacks would set off America's longest war. Twenty years later, it's the beginning of the end.
Just ahead, a look at the U.S. troop withdrawal that is underway right now.
And still ahead, we'll have more on our top story, that deadly crash in Israel. We'll talk with a spiritual leader who planned to celebrate last
night. Now, he's identifying remains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:33]
KINKADE: Welcome back.
I want to go back to our top store, the tragedy out of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set aside Sunday for national mourning for
the 45 people killed at a religious festival overnight. They were apparently crushed to death while leaving through a passageway. 150 people
were injured.
The festival drew tens of thousands of ultra orthodox Jews. Investigators are now working through the wreckage as the country's attorney general
begins the process to determine what went wrong.
CNN's Hadas Gold went to the scene and she gives us a vivid description how this disaster happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: This is one of the area where tens of thousands of orthodox Jews gathered to celebrate the Lag B'Omer holiday, typically full of bonfire,
singing and dancing. But it turned chaotic around 1:00, as the crowds tried to leave, they came down this ramp and started sliding and falling all over
each other, a tangle of bodies all on top of each other that led to tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Hadas Gold there.
Well, Rabbi Shlomo Katz was just minutes away from the festival when the tragedy happened. He joins us now.
Thank you for your time today.
RABBI SHLOMO KATZ, SPIRITUAL LEADER: Thank you.
KINKADE: Rabbi Katz, you were on your way to the effectively when this incident happened. I understand you're about 23 minutes away. You had
planned to leave 30 minutes earlier, which means you could have been amongst it.
KATZ: Correct. Myself and hundreds of thousands more could have been there as well. This is the largest gathering Israel has throughout the year. Many
of us found ourselves on the side of the road at 2:00 in the morning.
KINKADE: Give us a sense from those you're speaking with what the feeling is there. I imagine there's a lot of shock and a lot of anger.
KATZ: It's only natural for there to be shock and anger in tragedies like this, but I will tell you something and all the viewers, the people in
Israel are as much as whatever the media portrays, we're one big beautiful family that when we have our -- when we have tragedies like this, anger
takes a back seat and comfort and condolences and genuine care and love is in the front seat.
And that's exactly what all of us woke up to, went to sleep with and probably be around surrounding with the next few days, if not weeks or
months.
KINKADE: Forty-five people lost their lives in this crash. I understand children were among the dead. There are some that are still yet to be
identified. You've been helping with that process, is that right?
KATZ: Correct. I just returned home from the headquarters of the identification center in Tel Aviv. I'm sorry if I'm going to get choked up,
what I saw there, like many of us, I witness a lot of things in life living here in this region. It's a sense of parents looking for their children,
siblings looking for their siblings.
It's something I admit I have not processed it all, but this is a sense that we've been through this so many times as a people.
[11:35:01]
But there's something different about what happened early, early this morning that is too soon to really put the finger on and exploring at an
emotional or rational level, for that matter.
KINKADE: I wonder what you make then of how authorities were prepared for this, because as you say, this is an event that happens every year. In
previous years, there have been much bigger turnouts. How did this happen? Did authorities not expect this many people to turn out given the pandemic?
KATZ: I honestly feel everyone is trying to do their best. Everyone is trying to do their best. There will be people that will have to speak up
and will have to pay up for what happened here.
But that's not where our hearts are now. Right now, it's a few minutes of the coming of the Sabbath and this general sense of those general questions
at the right time. But right now, they can wait.
Right now, it's just about, I'm your brother. I'm your sister. Right now, family is what matters more than anything. That's true always but it's
especially true right now and what we're sensing right now.
KINKADE: Israel has done a pretty good job in terms of rolling out its vaccination program. As I understand, about 50 percent of the population
have now been vaccinated.
But I'm wondering how the pandemic has affected religious practices, because as I understand, there has been a lot of pushback when it comes to
restrictions over social gatherings and some people not wanting to follow social distancing guidelines.
What do you make of that given the number of people that turned out for this event?
KATZ: I can only speak from personal experience. Last year the place was closed and no one was there. I was there two years ago, the last time it
was open to the public. There were just about the same amount of people, maybe a little bit less.
This is the biggest attraction in Israel, like I mentioned before. So, even though we could try to understand this in light of the pandemic, I don't
think that's really at the heart of what's going on over here right now. And as much as there's -- like I said before, we will examine everything
through that light. It's simply a definitive situation where we're at right now.
And we feel, I want to say, we feel the love from all over the world. The phone calls, e-mails and texts from all over the world, Jewish and non-
Jewish people that are reaching out and opening their heart is truly, truly meaningful. I want to say thank you on behalf of all the people in Israel.
KINKADE: The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke shortly after this tragedy. I just want to play a little of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will carry out a comprehensive, serious, detailed investigation to ensure this
kind of disaster never happens again. I ask on Sunday to announce a day of national mourning. We will all join in the grief of the families and in
prayers for the wounded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A lot of grief right now but certainly a lot of questions. From those you've been speaking to, especially as you've been trying to help
with the identification of the victims, are there many people asking, how did this happen?
KATZ: Absolutely. The questions are not just asked on a rational level, meaning where were the authorities? I'm a rabbi, so the questions to me
more, how could this happen? And, you know, when someone asks those kind of questions you don't dear try to give them any type of answer, you just put
your arm around them and say, you know what, I'm going to ask that question with you together.
Right now, people think they want answers. Even if we got all the answers in the world I don't believe it would change anything in terms of what a
person senses inside, because it's not about answers, something deeper going on.
So, the questions are coming in every two seconds, every two seconds, literally the phones are nuts. Many have lost phone connections, the wires,
everything is so busy. But to something a deeper question going on beneath the surface, a question we know we have no answer for.
We are a people that suffered the loss of 6 million people in gas chambers. The question of how this happened is not something we know we'll ever get
an answer to. So, we're dealing with it the way we know how, open our hearts wide open and hopefully have more patience with each other as we get
through this national tragedy together.
KINKADE: Rabbi Shlomo Katz, our thoughts with you and everyone suffering in Israel over this tragedy. Thank you for your time.
KATZ: Thank you. God bless you. Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, we will have much more on this tragedy in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD.
[10:40:03]
We'll hear from the head of the medical service that treated victims at the scene.
Stay with us.
And next hour, you will hear how one climber said COVID forced him to give up his dream of reaching the top of Mt. Everest.
Plus, the coronavirus may be adding new worries to the lives of working mothers. Next hour, a plan to beat the blues with a new breed of bikers.
That's part of CNN Academy showcasing exceptional new reporting.
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KINKADE: Right now, hundreds of football social media accounts are dead. That's thanks to a boycott from players angry at the lack of action over
racist abuse online. Among them, Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal forward who spoke exclusively to CNN about his decision to turn off his social
media accounts.
Alex Thomas spoke with him. What did he tell you?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Well, the headline is he said that when we come together, it's powerful. I will explain what that means in World
Sport coming up. This is an unprecedented action to target racist abuse online.
KINKADE: All right. A very important story. We are going to be tuning in for that in just after the break with Alex Thomas.
Thanks so much, Alex.
Stay with CNN.
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(WORLD SPORT)
KINKADE: We certainly have, Alex. I still love that video when he was on the phone in tears. What a moment that was. I'm sure he has plenty more
amazing moments ahead. Alex Thomas, thanks so much.
Well, we will be right back at the top of the hour with another edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. Plenty of news to discuss. Stay with us.
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