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Jews Across Europe Face Renewed Abuse And Attacks; Ex- Department of Homeland Security Chief Reacts To Warning About Potential QAnon Violence; Delta Variant Spreads As Americans Travel For July Fourth. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 02, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JAIME HARRISON, DNC CHAIRMAN (via Skype): John Roberts is -- since he was a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, has been focused on chipping away at the Voting Rights act.

John, this is not a woe is me moment. This is a moment in which the American people have to stand up and the American people have to take back the power that they wield.

Now, the most powerful people in this country aren't sitting on the Supreme Court. They're not senators on the floor of the United States Senate or in the House. They're not legislators in our district. It's the people in this country.

And we have to get folks registered in a way that we've never done before. We've got to get them mobilized, educate them on the issues, and have them flood the ballot boxes next November -- November 2022.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it strikes me --

HARRISON: Because the power belongs to the people in this country.

BERMAN: It strikes me you are hitting on the one thing that Democrats can really do now. If this is something that you want to change, the Supreme Court doesn't appear to be an avenue for you. Congress, frankly, doesn't appear to be an avenue right now because the filibuster will not be overturned. You know there are states led by Republican governors and Republican legislatures that are not avenues for you.

So the only way you can change this, if you want to, is by getting people to vote -- paradoxically, in a way. So how are you going to do that?

HARRISON: Well, that's what the DNC is working on right now.

John, I have announced over the past few months some of the largest investments ever that the DNC's ever made in the midterm elections. We've announced almost $43 million -- $23 million going to our state parties to shore up the infrastructure there, going back to the 50 state-seven territory strategy where all of our state parties are strong and operating once again.

We've also announced over $20 million, and a lot of that will go into voter protection. We are putting voter protection staff in almost all of our states. Last cycle, we had 33 states with voter protection directors; this cycle the aim is 50. And we're doing it much earlier so that we have people on the ground who understand these nefarious laws that Republicans are writing and that they can make sure that the staffs and the people are equipped to overcome these very suppressive laws that we see in the states.

BERMAN: Separate but connected issue.

Again, the last day of the Supreme Court term and it really puts a focus on the makeup of the Supreme Court. Justice Stephen Breyer is 82. He's one of the three so-called more liberal justices.

Do you think it would be better for your interests if Breyer retired now so that Biden could put a nominee up and get it through a Democratic-controlled Senate while he has one?

HARRISON: Well, Justice Breyer is going to have to make that determination. I don't know him. I don't have any influence over him. But he's going to have to make that determination whether or not it's time to hang it up and allow somebody else to step in.

But if he does decide to retire, I'm sure that President Biden is ready and willing and able to put somebody on the court. And he has said that one of the first appointments that he will make will be an African American woman, and that will be a historic moment for this country.

BERMAN: I know it's his decision to make but it sounds like you'd like him to make a decision.

HARRISON: Well, again, if he makes it we'll move forward with it. If he doesn't we'll move forward with what we've got.

But as my grandma said -- Jaime, control what you can control. We're going to mobilize and get voters out to push back and send these people home who are trying to take away their rights.

BERMAN: Your grandmother sounds like a smart woman.

Jaime Harrison, I appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.

HARRISON: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: All right, a disturbing attack. A rabbi stabbed several times as anti-Semitic assaults surge around the world.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And the holiday travel in full swing already as COVID cases rise, though, in parts of the country. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with ways that we can celebrate safely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:38:20]

BERMAN: One person is in custody after a rabbi was stabbed near a Jewish day school in Boston. Police say Rabbi Shlomo Noginski suffered non-life-threatening injuries when he was attacked near the school in the city's Brighton neighborhood. He suffered stab wounds to his arm.

Police say their investigation is ongoing. It is not clear what motivated the attack.

There has been an alarming rise in anti-Semitism across the globe. In Europe, where scars of the last century still fester, new incidents of hatred toward Jews are increasing.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elie Rosen knows all about where hate can lead. His grandparents survived the Holocaust. They always warned him to keep his head down because there might be more to come.

Last August, they were proved right. Rosen was targeted along with his synagogue in the Austrian city of Graz. Its walls made from the bricks of the synagogue destroyed in 1938 defaced.

ELIE ROSEN, ATTACK VICTIM: After this attack, those warnings of my grandparents have kind of a flashback and this made me very, very sorry and brought tears into my heart and to my face.

BELL (voice-over): A few days later just outside the synagogue, Rosen was chased by a man wielding a baseball bat, but managed to get back into his car just in time.

ROSEN: Certainly, I was scared. Being physically attacked is a dimension that's different than being verbal attacked, which I'm used to because anti-Semitism has risen within the last year.

[07:40:04]

BELL (voice-over): In 2020, anti-Semitic incidents in Austria reached their highest level since the country began keeping records 19 years ago. And in Germany, incidents rose as much as 30 percent, according to a German watchdog.

Much of the rise in both countries is being blamed on harsh COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Protesters demonstrating against the restrictions held signs depicting forced vaccination by Jews. And two people in Berlin were shouted at by a man who they believed blamed Jews for the pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that anti-Semitic conspiracy myths have been there for centuries. And, in fact, whenever there is a pandemic they have come to the fore again.

BELL (voice-over): Across Europe, anti-Semitic attacks have been rising for years, from a deadly standoff in 2015 at a kosher supermarket in Paris to Vienna, where four people were killed in a rampage outside the Stadttempel synagogue last year. And then, there is the desecration of Jewish graves, like these in eastern France.

In Brussels, Rabbi now wears a baseball cap when he goes out to hide his very identity.

ALBERT GUIGUI, CHIEF RABBI, BRUSSELS (through translator Bell): Of course, I wear a yarmulke at home, he says, but outside, I prefer to cover my head less conspicuously. It's not healthy, he explains, to live in an atmosphere of fear and where you feel hunted. I think that as well as being vigilant, we must tackle the evil at the root of the problem, and that is about difference.

BELL (voice-over): The Holocaust killed an estimated six million Jews in Europe. But as living memory gives way to fading footage, so denial grows and hate speech returns.

As well as the tension around COVID lockdowns, the violence between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East in May also drove hate toward Jews across Europe.

PROTESTERS: Shitty Jews, shitting Jews.

BELL (voice-over): Like here in Berlin or in Brussels where the chants spoke of ancient battles between Jews and Muslims.

PROTESTERS: Jews, remember Khaybar. The army of Muhammad is returning.

BENJAMIN WARD, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH'S EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA DIVISION: We do see a cyclical increase in expressions of anti-Semitism and also anti-Semitic violence linked to events in the Middle East. But if we look more broadly at the phenomenon of anti-Semitism in Europe we see that it's much older and also much wider. And it's really a European issue.

BELL (voice-over): The hate is also spreading online, according to Human Rights Watch. Horrific cartoons like this one depicting Jews with a big hooked nose, or this one in France of a conspiracy theory blaming Jews for the pandemic and shared, he says mistakenly, by a candidate in recent regional elections. The European Commission has a deal with tech companies to remove offensive content within 24 hours but only once it's been alerted.

BELL (on camera): This is the memorial in the very heart of Vienna to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who were deported during World War II. Most did not survive. It's a reminder of where words and conspiracy theories can lead, but it's also a reminder of Europe's own very violent homegrown history of anti-Semitism -- an anti-Semitism that has never quite disappeared.

BELL (voice-over): Prayers continue to be heard all over Europe. From the center of Paris to the old Stadttempel synagogue in Vienna.

Elie Rosen says that his grandparents' approach of keeping a low profile after the Holocaust was understandable but ultimately misguided. European Jews keeping their heads down, he says, has not prevented anti-Semitism from rearing its head once again.

ROSEN: Contrary to my grandparents, I will tell my son or I will tell young Jewish people to be proud of being Jewish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: John, what surprised us most in putting together this report was just how much worse the pandemic has made things. All of that anger driven so much faster than ever it was before by the internet and by social networks.

And this, of course, at a time when nine out of 10 Jews here in Europe feel, John -- according to a commission by the European Commission -- according to a survey, I'm sorry -- that anti-Semitism is getting worse in their countries.

It means John that just 80 years after the Holocaust began on the continent in which it happened, a lifetime -- it's all it's taken for people to begin to forget, John.

BERMAN: Really one of history's great tragedies and any time there is a difficulty it is exploited once again in the cause of anti-Semitism.

Melissa Bell, a really terrific report. Thank you so much for that.

[07:45:00]

HARLOW: It certainly was.

All right. Well, the Department of Homeland Security issuing a bulletin to state and local law enforcement warning of increasing opportunities for violent extremist attacks this summer fueled by misinformation. Included in that bulletin concerns that QAnon conspiracy theorists could promote the idea that former President Trump will return to power in August.

Jeh Johnson is with me -- former Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning.

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: I wish -- I wish it were on better news but this is the reality.

Our colleague, Donie O'Sullivan, went to the Trump rally in Ohio over the weekend and one of Trump's supporters said we are going to be in a civil war -- and that supporter is not alone.

How big is this threat?

JOHNSON: The temperature is high right now. There was a poll released about a month ago that indicated that a full 15 percent of Americans ascribe to the QAnon theory that our government, the media, the financial world is run by satanic-worshiping pedophiles -- 15 percent. That is one in six Americans.

The temperature is high right now. The threat of domestic-based violent extremism is high right now. That pot of water boiled over on January sixth and there's no reason to suspect that it's over. It may have been the tip of the iceberg.

HARLOW: It is -- that's an extraordinary number. It's not new. And this forum is relatively new but you confronted it when you were secretary, in terms of violent extremism.

And our Whitney Wild -- our colleague who covers this extensively -- said to me the other day on the air, how do stop a thought? And that really is key here. How do you stop a thought?

JOHNSON: Much of it is derived from misinformation on social media, without a doubt. We live in an environment now where the internet can bring the entire world to the palm of your hand, but there are also downsides. People are allowed to believe what they want to believe about the world because they can go to places on social media that do nothing more than reaffirm their own biases --

HARLOW: Right.

JOHNSON: -- and their own suspicions.

HARLOW: It's not just that, though. It's also elected members of Congress, the former president.

I mean, last night, anchoring for Erin Burnett, I had Mike Shields on. He's a paid political strategist for Kevin McCarthy. And I want you to listen to something that he said to me in our conversation about why Kevin McCarthy will not support any form of a commission to investigate January the sixth. He said this -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE SHIELDS, STRATEGIST FOR LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY: As a -- as a campaign operative and as a Republican --

HARLOW: Yes.

SHIELDS: -- I'm kind of glad. If the Democrats want to run on '22 about January sixth, which affects no one's lives in this country every day, Republicans are going to run on --

HARLOW: What?

SHIELDS: -- securing the border --

HARLOW: Wait, wait -- hold on. January sixth affects no one's lives in this country?

SHIELDS: This commission is not going to affect people's lives.

HARLOW: Is that what you -- but --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, I mean, when you hear that -- and I said well, just look at the warnings from DHS and from the FBI. But that is a belief among elected members of Congress. What do you do with that?

JOHNSON: Elected members of Congress -- people who command a microphone who have a public voice -- have a responsibility to be responsible in their rhetoric and not simply pander to a certain base.

The reason why it's so important, by the way, to study January sixth is not so much to pursue any political agenda. January sixth revealed real cracks in the command and control relationships in our government when it comes to securing the U.S. Capitol for events like counting the Electoral College votes. And it's incumbent upon our government now to study how that was allowed to happen and how it can -- we can avoid happening -- it happening again

And it's disappointing that Congress cannot get together on a bipartisan basis to simply appoint a commission of 10 Americans -- five Democrats, five Republicans -- to study that issue.

HARLOW: Yes.

Let's turn to the southern border because you have Republican governors -- multiple Republican governors now sending what they're calling support to the border at the request of the governors of Arizona and Texas. Some states sending the National Guard.

You've got Kristie Noem in South Dakota sending privately funding -- from a privately-funded donor, sending some of them.

Is this a political stunt? What is this?

JOHNSON: So, let's start with this. The government should never be funded by private interests. The government -- our government, whether it's the state or local level or the national level, should never be beholden to private interest funding activities like this.

Second, even when the national government requests our Guard to go to the southern border -- even when it's a request coming from DHS -- very often they get there and there's a bit of a head scratch about what they're supposed to do.

Typically, our National Guard does not engage in law enforcement on the southern border. They're not trained to do so. They're not trained to arrest and interdict migrants.

[07:50:03]

HARLOW: Yes.

JOHNSON: And so, yes, it is a -- it is a bit of a political stunt in my judgment.

Having 25 or 50 members of the National Guard from South Dakota go to Arizona and Texas -- they're probably wondering just why am I going? And these are people who are patriotic Americans who have private lives in first -- as first responders in their own states.

HARLOW: Right.

JOHNSON: And so they have a job to do in their own states.

So, very definitely, the situation on the southern border is troubling. One hundred eighty thousand a month is way too high.

HARLOW: Right.

JOHNSON: The answer to that problem -- and it is a problem -- is not just simply bringing 25 people or 50 people from South Dakota or other parts of our country to do something that they're not sure about.

HARLOW: Secretary Johnson, thank you for your time on both topics this morning.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

HARLOW: It's good to see you in person.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, we now know who will be tasked with investigating the insurrection on January sixth of Congress. One of the Democrats just named to the select committee will join us.

BERMAN: And breaking news. The last U.S. troops based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan departed overnight -- a milestone. CNN is live in Afghanistan, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:25]

BERMAN: Millions of Americans are traveling and gathering and partying on the Fourth of July this weekend -- celebrations around the country. But there are growing concerns about the rapid spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus. Overall, new cases of COVID are down 95 percent since January, but up 10 percent this past week.

Joining us now, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, 10 percent in a week. I know cases are still low but they're rising again -- and it's been a long time since we've seen them rise.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean -- so this is going to be the question. Is this a sort of blip that we're seeing here or is this an indication of what's to come? Are we going to see greater increases in the overall number of cases?

But also, importantly, as we've talked about for more than a year now, will we then see a corresponding increase in hospitalizations and possibly even deaths? We don't know yet. We're not seeing that yet because I think we know if you're vaccinated you are very well- protected. But let me show you the graph of sort of what's happened. As you mentioned, 10 percent over this past week but still, a significant drop over where we are -- where we were at the beginning of the year.

When you talk about Delta variant, I think -- I want to show you this next graph. We've got granular and what's happening in Florida, for example.

HARLOW: Yes.

GUPTA: The bottom line is this. If you are in a -- in a community where you're surrounded by primarily unvaccinated people, that is where the Delta variant is spreading the fastest. That is the red line you see there on that graph.

If you are unvaccinated, living among unvaccinated, that's the worst possible situation. Vaccinated among vaccinated, that's the best possible situation. So you have to take that into account. If you're vaccinated, that's great -- but also, who's around you.

HARLOW: For sure.

Earlier, Sanjay, this week, health officials in L.A. recommended that everyone, vaccinated or not, wear a face mask inside public places. And yet, Dr. Fauci told CNN the other night that for the most part, if you're vaccinated you don't need one.

So that leaves me and I think a lot of our viewers scratching our heads. So who do we believe? What do we do?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, I think in L.A. County they're sort of using the precautionary principle here.

I think -- you know, as we've tried to say throughout this past year and a half, we need to be data-driven here. So we're looking at the data and I think if you start to look at data and you're seeing numbers crop up in your area, that may be an indication.

Right now, there's about 1,000 counties in the United States where vaccination rates are 30 percent or lower. So yes, in those counties if you have a lot of unvaccinated people and you're seeing numbers go up, that may be an indication that if you're in public places --

HARLOW: Yes.

GUPTA: -- you're more likely to come in contact with the virus.

So I'll give you a scenario. For example, in New York where you are, the state is -- the vaccination rates are 54-55 percent. That's the total number of adults that are vaccinated. Where I am in Georgia, it's closer to 36 percent.

I'm vaccinated. I am probably more likely to come in contact with people who are unvaccinated than you are. So if I'm going into a big crowded setting with lots of unvaccinated people I might put a mask on. I would carry a mask -- I carry a mask with me.

The public health docs at Hopkins -- they're all vaccinated. Whenever they're out in public places they wear masks.

So it sort of depends a little bit on your vaccination status and where you live.

BERMAN: So, Sanjay, obviously, it's the Fourth of July weekend. Happy birthday, America.

People are going to get together. People are going to celebrate this weekend one way or another. So how should people approach it safely?

GUPTA: All right, so let's look at these factors to consider.

I think, first of all, your vaccination status is probably the most important thing. We know the vaccines are really protective. We've seen the data. We've seen real-world data. These are among the most studied therapeutics, really, on the planet, so we have real good data on that.

But look at the center of the screen there -- your own personal vaccination status, but also community transmission rate and community vaccination rate. You should probably take some time to look at this for your community. We should be doing this anyways. Make it like something you look at like you look at the weather.

So let me show you a map, for example, of overall transmission in the country. What does it look like where you are versus other places?

So I just mentioned, for example, where you guys are in New York versus where I am. So already, we know the vaccination status overall where you are is much higher. It's not that herd immunity that we talk about in terms of vaccination but you also see a lot of blue up where you are. Overall, viral transmission is lower.

Where I am, lower vaccination rates and higher transmission.