Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

Warning Of A Possible New Front Opening Up In Israel-Hamas War Comes As The Death Toll In Gaza Continues To Skyrocket; Nikki Haley Seen As The Biggest Threat To Donald Trump In The Republican Party; Storm Garrett Rips Through Scotland; Two Fishermen Are Praised For A Post-Christmas Miracle; CNN's Richard Quest Features Phone Addiction. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired December 28, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Stark warning -- the war in the Middle East could be expanding, just ahead on ONE WORLD. Tensions on Israel's northern

border threaten to spark a wider conflict. What a member of Israel's war cabinet is saying about Hezbollah.

Damage control -- Nikki Haley is hard at work trying to take back words that she didn't say. We'll explain. And later, you do it, I do it. And

let's face it, it is a problem. Why is scrolling on our phone so addictive and what can we do to stop it.

Hello everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD. Israel is hinting at a possible military

escalation with Hezbollah, as the tensions intensify along its northern border and concerns grow about the threat of a wider regional conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to return to the Middle East next week, stopping in Israel to discuss the next step in its war with

Hamas. Now, it comes as a member of Israel's War Cabinet is demanding an end to the attacks coming form Lebanon and warns that time for talk is

quickly running out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI WAR CABINET MEMBER (through translator): The stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out. If the world and the

Lebanese government don't act in order to prevent the firing on Israel's northern residents and to distance Hezbollah from the border, the IDF will

do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: A warning of a possible new front opening up in this war comes as the death toll in Gaza continues to skyrocket. According to the Hamas-

controlled health ministry, more than 21,000 people have been killed since October 7, 2010, in the past 24 hours alone.

We should note the Ministry of Health is not distinguished between civilians and combatants. The IDF is issuing new warnings to civilians in

central Gaza to evacuate to the south, including to regions that have repeatedly been attacked.

Meanwhile, an edited video is being circulated on social media that appears to show Palestinian men and at least two children detained and stripped by

the Israeli military. Nada Bashir is covering the story for us from London, Elliott Gotkine joins me now from Tel Aviv. Elliott, let's start with you.

What prompted this warning of possible action against Hezbollah on the northern border of Israel and Lebanon from Benny Gantz yesterday?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Bianna, I think it's just a question of Israel's patience running out. Hezbollah has been firing on Israeli

communities and Israeli positions pretty much since this war broke out with Hamas after its murderous rampage of October the 7th. Hezbollah has been

firing on Israeli positions. Israel has been firing back at Hezbollah positions.

And just today, and bear in mind that there are still five hours left of today here in Israel, more than 50 launches have been fired towards Israel,

including one drone which set off air raid sirens in the suburbs north of Haifa, one of Israel's most important cities and home to its biggest port.

So, this kind of tit-for-tat, this war that's not a war, has been going on for weeks now. We've had warnings from Prime Minister Netanyahu, from

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, we also heard from Eli Cohen, the Foreign Minister on Tuesday warning. And now we get this warning from Benny Gantz,

former Chief of the General Staff, former Defense Minister and probably one of the less hawkish members of Israel's war cabinet giving this very stark

warning to Lebanon and Hezbollah.

Of course, the big problem is that it's not in the Lebanese government's gift to reign in Hezbollah. It doesn't control Hezbollah. Who controls

Hezbollah? Iran. Is it going to reign in Hezbollah? Well, it seems that only Iran has the power to do so. If not, Israel is saying quite starkly

that it will do so by force. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: I've seen an increase in activity from multiple proxies that Iran has control over in recent weeks. Elliott, we've also learned that a

second American has been declared murdered by Hamas on October 7th. This comes just days after her husband's murder had been confirmed as well from

their kibbutz. What more are we learning?

GOTKINE: That's right. This is from Kibbutz Nir Oz putting out a statement saying that Judy Weinstein, a 70-year-old woman who was kidnapped by Hamas

on October the 7th, we knew that she was injured. It seems that injury was fatal and she has now been declared dead and her body is being held by

Hamas as well as that of her husband.

[12:05:00]

Now she was the last living American woman hostage being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. She leaves behind Hamas as well as that of her husband.

Now, she was the last living American woman hostage being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. She leaves behind four children, seven grandchildren, and

even her 95-year-old grandmother.

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago, we heard from President Biden putting out a statement saying that he was praying for the well-being and

safe return of both Judy and her husband. Both members of that couple now declared dead.

Hamas and other militant groups still holding more than a hundred hostages inside the Gaza Strip. And pressure both on the government here and

internationally growing to do more to get those hostages home.

Just this evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting with families of the hostages and saying that conversations are still ongoing to try to get some

an additional hostage deal in place that would see those hostages returned home to Israel. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, six of those hostages still being held by Hamas and Gaza are believed to be American citizens. Elliott Gotkine, thank you. Well,

let's turn now to that video being circulated on social media. Nada Bashir joins me with more on this quite disturbing footage. What more do we know

about this video, Nada?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: It certainly is a troubling video which has been circulating for a few days now on social media. CNN hasn't been able

to confirm the exact date in which this video was shot, but has geo-located it to the Yarmouk Stadium in central Gaza. And as you can see in the video,

a number of men, teenagers and what appears to be two young children seen stripped to their underwear, blindfolded hands above their heads or some

tied behind their back.

Elsewhere, in the video, you also see some women fully clothed but also blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back, held in the stadium as

troops line the stadium, inspecting them as it shows in the video and also military vehicles roaming the stadium, as well.

Now, this has really triggered and sparked concern over the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza detained by the Israeli military, particularly of

course as in the video. You see many of them have been stripped down of particular concern around the detention of children. Now, the Israeli

military says it strips detainees to ensure they aren't carrying explosives.

But the fact that in this video, you do see detainees seemingly stripped for a longer period of time has raised concern. We've heard from the Euro-

Mediterranean Human Rights Monitoring Organization, which says it has received reports of many in this region of central Gaza being detained,

including women, who they say have reported mistreatment, harassment and abuse by the Israeli military, saying as well they have received reports of

the detention of children as young as 12, the elderly some as old as 70, as well.

Now, of course we have had warnings from the United Nations own human rights office with regards to the detention of Palestinians in Gaza. I'll

read you just a bit from the statement from the U.N.'s Human Rights Office issued earlier this month saying the U.N. Human Rights Office has received

numerous disturbing reports from the north of Gaza of mass detentions, ill treatment and enforced disappearance of possibly thousands of Palestinian

men and boys and a number of women and girls at the hands of Israeli Defense Forces.

Most were rounded up as they were attempting to move south or were taken during operations conducted on their homes, hospitals, schools and other

places of refuge. The U.N. also goes on to say that it has received reports of ill treatment which, if confirmed, could amount to torture.

Now, of course, the Israeli military says it has called on all civilians to evacuate South and it has reason to be suspicious of any civilians who do

not heed that warning and remain in northern and central Gaza. But the U.N. has reiterated that regardless of these evacuation orders, Israel remains

obligated to respect and protect the lives of civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.

There is, of course, mounting concern over these evacuation orders, of course, given the fact that we continue to see airstrikes and, of course, a

spreading ground incursion by the Israeli military focusing now on the South according to the Israeli military. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Nada Bashir, thank you so much, reporting to us from London. Well, since the start of this conflict, Israeli leaders have been

adamant about their goal, the complete and total destruction of Hamas. But there is growing skepticism with some questioning if that is even possible.

Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said eliminating Hamas could take a decade of war. And my next guest, who was once in charge of

Palestinian affairs and is one of the leading experts on Hamas, tells "The New York Times" this week, quote, "They've been saying this for a while,

that Hamas is collapsing but it's just not true. Every day, we're facing tough battles."

Mikhail Milstein is now a senior analyst at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and joins me now. Thank you so much for coming back onto

the program. So, let's start with that key objective of the IDF, of Prime Minister Netanyahu's going into this war, the full dismantling, both

politically and militarily, of Hamas.

[12:10:00]

You were skeptical of that objective. We're now nearly three months into this war. How has Israel fared, in your view, in attaining that goal?

MICHAEL MILSHSTEIN, SENIOR ANALYST, DAYAN CENTER TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: Well, it's a very important question, Bianna. Eighty three days after the

war began, we can analyze the strategic analysis. And I do think that the public and the decision-makers in Israel are much more realistic today than

they were 83 days ago.

During the first weeks of the war, we saw, we found in the Israeli discourse, all kinds of a very general slogans about the goals of the war,

like erasing Hamas or defeating them in a quite short or limited operation. And I do think that today, there are two insights -- basic insights among

the public, the army, and the decision makers in Israel.

The first one is that you should be very focused on your goal in Hamas. You cannot pretend that you can implement the full erasing of Hamas. You can

destroy the military infrastructure, even the political one, but you must understand that even after Hamas will be defeated in the military manner,

Hamas will still exist in Gaza Strip, in East Jerusalem, and in the West Bank.

The second insight regards the time. We do understand in Israel today that this kind of war is much tougher and much longer than we assessed 83 days

ago. You know, every day, Bianna, there are achievements, there is an advance -- a military advance on the field.

But we do understand that we face an ideological hardline, ideological enemy, which will really create a very complicated and a very tough arena

of war. And that's why we do understand today that if we want to complete or to implement the whole target -- the whole strategic target of the war,

we should be ready for a long and tough war.

GOLODRYGA: Well, what's obvious at this point is that Hamas has spent years preparing for this war. So, the idea that it could be dismantled and

they could be fully decimated, right, within a matter of three or four months seems to be rather questionable at this point.

It's interesting that this was the first time this week that we'd heard from the IDF specifically attaching a number figure to the combatants they

say have been killed thus far in the war -- a little over 8000. But what's notable is that none of Hamas' top military leadership, from Yahya Sinwar,

Mohammed Dave, Marwan Issa, are among those believed to have been killed at this point. Does that surprise you?

MILSHSTEIN: Well, it doesn't surprise me, Bianna, because it was obvious from the first day of the war, after actually Hamas started this war and

surprised Israel that Hamas is very much ready for the Israeli offensive. They all, or almost all of them, are in the tunnels under the hospitals and

other important sides in Gaza.

I do think, Bianna, regarding this question of Yahya Sinwar that it is one of the prominent targets of Israel or should be one of the prominent

targets of Israel, because Yahya Sinwar, the person himself is a key, is a basic key, and he's actually a game changer. If he will disappear from the

political or the military arena, I do assess that things in Hamas, inside Hamas, and in Gaza Strip will be different.

For example, the vanishing, the disappearance of Yahya Sinwar will cause a symbolic and even a functional damage to Hamas. I do not think that it will

be the end of the game and it will be the end of the war. But it will no doubt change the whole basic equation, which is very, very strict right now

and very, very complicated right now between Israel and Hamas.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you, finally, how concerned are you what the likelihood, in your view is of another full-on front opening in northern

Israel with Hezbollah? Since the war began, the two have engaged in nearly daily crossfire, cross-border fire, and that has intensified over the last

few weeks. We heard those comments from Benny Gantz, from the foreign minister. Is that alarming to you? And do you think Israel has the

opportunity now to open another front?

[12:15:00]

MILSHSTEIN: Well, this is actually the prominent question the decision makers in Israel are asking themselves right now where, Bianna, because

there is no doubt when you are checking the details that there is an increasing tension, increasing escalation in the northern in the northern

front.

By the way, I think that the reasons for this attitude is first, the growing fear of the resistance camp and mainly of Iran, that Yahya Sinwar

is going to be defeated and that Tehran will lose one of its prominent members of the resistance camp.

And the other one is the willingness of Iran to respond on all kinds of operations of Israel, such as the killing of one of the supreme commanders

of the revolutionary guards during the week in Syria with no direct clash between Iran and Israel, but via their proxies.

I do think that Israel should now act in a very cautious manner toward the northern arena. I do think that we should retaliate for every violation,

but on the same time try really to attempt to promote a diplomatic and a political solution. Regarding the Lebanese arena, I do think, Bianna, that

there is also an opportunity for Israel regarding the internal arena in Lebanon. The internal arena opposes very much every kind of escalation --

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

MILSHSTEIN: And I do think that a discourse should be promoted.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, it's no coincidence, I think, that Secretary of State Blinken is making another trip to the region next week, given the

escalation there, both in rhetoric and in military aggression. Michael Milshtein, always good to see you. Thank you.

MILSHSTEIN: You, too. Goodbye, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Well, one of the major stories on the U.S. campaign trail recently has been the rise of Nikki Haley. She is now seen as perhaps the

biggest threat to Donald Trump in the Republican Party.

But with success comes extra scrutiny. Haley is drawing criticism for how she handled a question at a town hall event on Wednesday. She was asked

about the causes of the U.S. civil war, and here was her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, don't come with an easy question or anything. I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was

basically how government was going to run the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do.

UNKNOWN: -- 2023 -- it's astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.

HALEY: What do you want me to say about slavery?

UNKNOWN: No problem. You answered my question. Thank you.

HALEY: Next question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Well, Democrats have been quick to criticize Haley for not mentioning slavery in her answer. Haley is the former governor of South

Carolina, which was the first state to secede from the union at the start of the Civil War.

Let's bring in CNN's Jessica Dean with more on this. Jessica, so this comes as Haley has been having quite a moment with voters and donors, perhaps her

first big stumble in this campaign. How is she responding today?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, it's also the timing of all of this, right? Because we're just less than three weeks now from the Iowa

caucuses, the New Hampshire follow shortly thereafter. So, there's even more scrutiny and more attention being paid to this because people are

really clicking in and cluing in as they get ready to vote.

And so, today, as we kind of expected, we first heard her on the radio earlier this morning, and then very quickly we saw her in front of cameras

kind of cleaning this all up. And it's worth noting that our embeds, our reporters that follow these candidates day in and day out, have noted that

she doesn't often talk in front of reporters or go off script. So, for her to really go in front of the cameras and address this is notable. I'll let

you listen to what she had to say this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: Of course, the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That's unquestioned, always the case. We know the Civil War was about slavery. But

it was also more than that. It was about the freedoms of every individual. It was about the role of government.

By the grace of God, we did the right thing and slavery is no more. But the lessons of what that bigger issue with the Civil War is that let's not

forget what came out of that which is government's role, individual liberties, freedom for every single person, freedom of speech, freedom of

religion, freedom to do and be anything you want to be without anyone or government getting in your way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:20:00]

DEAN: So, politically, this means that Nikki Haley is spending today having to address this and that this is what, Bianna, we, the media, have

been talking about since this morning, when they really want to be selling her to voters and letting her talk about her agenda, about the issues that

she wants to be talking to voters about instead of having to clean this up.

So, for her, it is a distraction in a moment where she has had all of this momentum and some wind at her back. But if you zoom out just a little

further, we also have to remember that in these early states and nationally, the polling continues to show that the former president, Donald

Trump, is absolutely the frontrunner, running some double digits ahead of Nikki Haley in some states of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in Iowa.

So, he's happy, and his campaign is happy to let her deal with all of this. Ron DeSantis, happy for the Nikki Haley campaign and the candidate herself

to have to be dealing with all of this, again, especially as people really start to clue in and pay attention, because we're getting ever closer to

when they'll actually start voting.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the Biden campaign also speaking out on this, too. Jessica Dean, thank you.

DEAN: Yeah.

GOLODRYGA: Coming up, we meet the men who saved a driver stuck in freezing temperatures for nearly a week. And imagine trying to land a passenger jet

in a fierce storm. I don't want to imagine that, but look at that video. After the break, we'll show you the aftermath left by Storm Garrett in the

U.K.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Fierce winds and rain have battered the British Isles as Storm Garrett rips through the region. Take a look at the flooding in Scotland.

However, most of the damage from Garrett is from the winds. The Manchester area in northern England, the winds took off the roof of this home. Look at

that picture.

Police there say Garrett did significant damage. As you can see, the U.K. Meteorological Agency says radars picked up what could have been a tornado.

The winds weren't much better in London either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Oh! Oh! Stop it! Stop that! Stop that! Oh my God, mate!

GOLODRYGA: That man recording -- that speaks for all of us when we look at this video. That is a plane trying to make a landing at Heathrow Airport.

And all more than 200 high-wind incidents like this were reported across the country.

[12:25:00]

Thank goodness for these great pilots. Well, two fishermen are being praised for a good deed that some are calling a post-Christmas miracle.

They found a man who had been trapped in a crash truck for six days. Now, it all started when they saw something shiny while looking for a place to

fish. Athena Jones has this incredible story of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLEN FIFELD, SERGEANT, INDIANA STATE POLICE: Quite frankly it's a miracle that he's alive.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Christmas miracle in Porter County, Indiana. Matt Reum found alive in his mangled truck six

days after a crash that left him trapped. The wreckage, under a bridge of Interstate 94, a mile east of the town of Portage, was not visible from the

road. Fortunately for Reum, Mario Garcia and his son-in-law, Nevardo de la Torre, were out scouting locations for fishing near a creek Tuesday when

they spotted something shiny.

MARIO GARCIA, FOUND MAN WHO WAS STUCK IN HIS TRUCK: It caught our curiosity. I looked inside and moved the white airbag, and there was a body

in there. And I went to touch it, and he turned around. And that just, it almost killed me there, because it was kind of shocking. But he was alive,

and he was very happy to see us.

JONES: The badly injured man later telling authorities able to reach his cell phone to call for help.

GARCIA: He mentioned he had been there since last Wednesday, so he's been there for a while. And he says he tried yelling and screaming, but nobody

would hear him. It was just quiet, just the sound of the water.

JONES: Authorities closed the westbound lanes of I-94 near the site Tuesday afternoon while crews worked to free ream. He was transported to

the hospital by helicopter. It is not clear what caused the crash, but police say it appears Reum was driving westbound and ran off the road,

traveling along the grass shoulder before going airborne down into the creek, where authorities believe his car rolled over several times and

landed under the bridge, where it was partially submerged.

GARCIA: I don't see any way somebody could have seen him. It was just a very fortunate that we've seen through the cracks of the woods, the shiny

of the wreck and curiosity that took us over there.

FIFELD: This is a miracle that this gentleman is alive today and that these two gentlemen just happened to be on that creek today.

JONES: Another lucky break, relatively mild weather. Temperatures in Porter County since December 21st ran from a high of 59 degrees to a low of

29.

FIFELD: We've been lucky enough here this Christmas season that our temperatures have been, as you all know, above normal. So, that was working

in this individual's favor. It's cold tonight and I don't believe that he would have made it through the night tonight.

JONES: Reum has several broken bones and injuries to his legs that could require surgery, according to his labor union and a GoFundMe page set up to

help with the cost of his recovery.

UNKNOWN: We're glad we got him the help he needed.

JONES: A happy ending made possible by two men who were in the right place at the right time. For me it was the first time going there. So, like, it

was just we were put there for a reason.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Two heroes in a Christmas miracle, indeed. What a story. Well, coming up for us, the sign in the restaurant says it all, make hummus, not

war. We'll introduce you to the Israeli-Palestinian owners of a Berlin eatery who serve up friendly, friendship, and unity one meal at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. A popular Middle Eastern restaurant in Berlin offers a vision of peace and

partnership in the face of war. Their mission is to promote unity along with a culture building menu that shows how friendship and food can

transcend politics. Lynda Kinkade has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: This may look like an ordinary Middle Eastern restaurant, except one of the owners is Israeli and the other is

Palestinian. Israeli entrepreneur Oz Ben David and Jalil Dabit, who is Palestinian, run Kanaan, a vegetarian restaurant located in Berlin, where

they're serving up unity and friendship one meal at a time.

The pair opened their business in 2015 with a mission to offer cuisine inspired by their heritage. But when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th,

they shut the restaurant down for days out of concern for their staff's safety. But they say they re-opened with a message of peace.

OZ BEN DAVID, CO-OWNER, KANAAN RESTAURANT: Everybody can get almost everything that they really imagine as long as we agree that both of us can

sit on the table and create a shared plate together or share a plate together.

KINKADE: A large sign hanging in the dining room reads, "Make Hummus, Not War".

JALIL DABIT, CO-OWNER, KANAAN RESTAURANT: Our vision is to show the people that Palestinian and Israeli or these people from different backgrounds can

work together and be really good friends.

KINKADE: Kanaan offers a variety of dishes from Za'atar and Feta rolls to Shakshuka lasagna. But it's their hummus that represents a melding of

cultures.

DAVID: I think it was the hummus recipe that become like our map or formula to how to communicate with each other. Each one has his own way to

make hummus and we can learn from the hummus and from the experience of sharing instead of fighting on something.

KINKADE: The owners also say that they're proud of the fact that their employees are of many different nationalities.

DAVID: It's something that's coming here from the workers all the time. If you will ask them what is so surprising for you to work in first time with

Israelis, they will tell you we are shocked how much we are similar.

KINKADE: They believe that despite being from one of the most contentious regions in the world, a love of food and an eating culture can create

friendships and help overcome differences. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Well, if ever there was a time for a story like this, it is now. Time for The Exchange and let's bring in the two owners of the Kanaan

restaurant in Berlin. Joining me now from Berlin is Israeli co-owner Oz Ben David, and Palestinian co-owner Jalil Dabit joins me from Ramla, Israel.

Thank you both for joining me.

Jalil, let me ask you about the time that you met in 2015 and decided to open this restaurant, because even back then, in more peaceful times, a

restaurant and partnership like yours, it was really a rarity.

[12:35:00]

DABIT: First of all, good evening. Second, it was actually, it was pure business because I looked for people that we want to work -- we want to

work with me. So, I didn't care if it's a Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Syrian. And when I met Oz, we just figured out that we are like thinking

the same thought about how to make business. So, at the beginning, I didn't think about it, if he's Israeli or not. You know what I mean?

GOLODRYGA: I mean, I hear you, but sadly, this is not the response you get from most people around the world, whether they're in the conflict zone

right now in Israel or in Gaza or in other parts of the world in different countries. As soon as they hear someone is Palestinian, as soon as they

hear someone is Israeli, the judgment begins.

Oz, what is the secret recipe? We'll get to the food in a moment, but a pun on words, what is the secret recipe, in your view, about how this

relationship has been able to grow from a business one, to one of partnership, to one of trust, to one that's even transcended a horrible

war.

DAVID: I think it's continued the question before because as Jalil mentioned, it was a business. It wasn't a mission that we came out and I

think that was the first lesson to understand that peace is not about fairy tales, about sometimes it can be a cold business decision. What you didn't

mention before is that I'm a settler. I was living all my life with my family in the West Bank and in the Golan Heights.

And for me, it wasn't like a mission or something that we choose. And when we came out to make hummus together, and Jalil coming with such a long

heritage and experience as a family that's making hummus for hundreds of years. And with that, I had an opinion about how hummus should be taste

like and what's the right way to make it.

And once we settled that and we allowed ourselves try even that the recipe doesn't make sense to us in the beginning, we dare to cross this fear and

dare to do this recipe and bring the both -- both of the best recipes, the secret of the family of Jalil, the secret of the hummus of my grandmother,

put it all together in one plan, one plate without ego, without thinking one thing is better than the other.

Just take the best and the rules that each one brings to the hummus and bring it to one plate. And without notice, it's become like also a recipe

for peace and a way for us to solve so many things over the future. No ego, bring the best, and understand that if you want to create something, and

food is to create energy in the end, you know.

It is -- create energy and this is what we do. And when we create these things, no ego and no and always it's never about what you give up. It's

about what you earn and keep from working together.

GOLODRYGA: I see Jalil nodding his head in agreement. One thing I did learn in researching you as someone who is a hummus aficionado is do not

put garlic in hummus. Let the lemon speak for itself. That is one takeaway. I've already learned for myself from reading about the two of you.

Jalil, I know that you shut the restaurant down immediately following the October 7th attacks. Talk about the process -- the thought process, the

business process that you went through in deciding when to re-open and perhaps some of the responsibility you felt for not only the partnership

and the business you've already established, but for those that work for you, as well.

DABIT: You know when all it was when it was the attack in the 7th of October, Oz couldn't like handle it. And he asked me, we need to close. And

I said, of course, if you cannot handle with that, so let's close. But I knew that it's not the right way. I let him to -- let him like to all -- to

have all his feeling out.

And then, like every -- like every half an hour, I call him and I check what about him and I think about my family in Gaza and I think about my

friends in Gaza and I'm thinking about both sides all the time.

[12:40:00]

And after like few days, Oz told me, okay this is the time. When Hamas ask us to close, we open. You remember that Oz? You remember this conversation?

DAVID: Yes. Hamas -- Hamas was declare on a rage day on Europe and many Israeli restaurants declare they will close down and I told him like that's

it, we're not letting the terror win. We opening up. We will stand open and we just -- we're not letting this fear anymore guiding us. We need to back

to believe even that it's -- it's very hard to believe in this kind of reality, Jalil made me believe again, that's what we do is the only option.

GOLODRYGA: That's such a powerful message that the two of you sent, really a support system through such a terrible, tragic crisis and day in the

country that is now into a three-month war. As we end here, I just have to ask on a personal note, Oz, Jalil, you're in Israel now. How are your

families doing?

DABIT: Now, it's still hard, but it's like every day that's coming. But that come more and more, it's become like harder because we don't see how

it's ending, but I hope that it will end as soon as possible because, you know, like it's, we don't have also hope like from the leaders and that's

what Oz and I trying to do, to give the people hope, you know, and I hope now there is no family there is in Gaza anymore.

And I open here in Ramla, my restaurant, so people start to come more and more. But yes, we are in a war. There is less rocket from Hamas to my area,

but still, you know, we're in the middle of war. It's -- I don't understand. I don't believe that it's already three months.

GOLODRYGA: I know. Well, it's been a hard three months. I know we've been covering it every single day. And listen, when you come across a story like

yours, we just have to tell our viewers. When we look for any morsel of hope we can, I just think about that pin at your restaurant, the Israeli-

Palestinian pin together, "Make Hummus, Not War".

Oz Ben David, I look forward to coming to your restaurant, Jalil Dabit. Thank you so much.

DABIT: Thank you.

DAVID: Thank you very much for spreading our message.

GOLODRYGA: And we'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, throughout this week, "Call to Earth" is turning the spotlight on French Polynesia and an organization working to restore coral

reef ecosystems around the globe. Tetouan Bernico started Coral Gardeners in 2017 when he was just 18 years old. As part of the Rolex Perpetual

Planet Initiative, they are on a mission to plant one million corals worldwide, a strategy they've dubbed Odyssey 2025. Here's a clip from the

episode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: This is Tiaya, one of three permanent ocean-based coral nurseries in Maurea. As coral gardeners, both by company name and by profession,

these sites are at the core of what they do on a daily basis.

TITOUAN BERNICOT, FOUNDER AND CEO CORAL GARDENERS: Coral gardening is the coolest thing on earth. You are underwater. There is nobody talking. You

hear the sound of the parrot fish like -- the noise of the waves, you have those thousands of little coral fragments, and you have the fish. They

become your co-workers. It's something so tangible. It's such a rewarding feeling to see your tiny coral fragment growing.

UNKNOWN: Globally, coral reefs cover fewer than one percent of the ocean floor but are home to at least a quarter of all marine life. But rising

global temperatures and pollution, combined with destructive human activity like overfishing, mining and collecting live coral, have wreaked havoc on

the ecosystem.

BERNICOT: We already have lost half of the coral reef worldwide. The scientists are really clear. They estimate that if nothing is done, by 2050

it's 90 percent of the remaining coral reef that could be condemned. And they could be the first ecosystem to entirely collapse, to disappear from

our planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: To see more on how Coral Gardeners are helping to restore the reef, tune into the full documentary "Call to Earth: Reviving the Reef". It

will run this Saturday on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: So here's a question. What do a slot machine and your mobile phone have in common?

[12:50:00]

Well, they're both trying to have you do the same thing. Keep your attention. So, if less screen time is one of your New Year's resolutions,

our Richard Quest spoke to an author about how to stop that scrolling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: We are on a constant mission to improve ourselves. It is a struggle that seemingly never ends. And

there's no shortage of assistance towards ambition. Indeed, for as long as I can remember, self-help books have been there.

For this edition of "Reading for Succeeding", we're going to come right into the 21st century. How do we handle our mobile phones, our digital

communications? How are they holding us back? How are they getting in the way? We want to use the phone, but not be abused by the phone, which is why

this latest book, "How to Break Up with Your Phone" by Catherine Price, proved to be such a winner when I read it.

CATHERINE PRICE, AUTHOR, "HOW TO BREAK UP WITH YOUR PHONE": A lot of these apps, a lot of the most problematic apps, make money based on how much time

we spend on them, the attention economy. So, they have every motivation in the world to get us to spend more attention and time on their apps.

And they do that by copying techniques that they got straight from slot machines, which are widely considered to be the most addictive machines

ever to have been invented. And what they do is they -- slot machines hook us by triggering the release of dopamine, this chemical that gets us to

repeat behaviors.

And our dopamine systems are essential to the survival of our species because dopamine helps us remember to eat and to reproduce, but it's a

totally non-discriminatory system. The dopamine system does not care if it's a habit you want to pursue or need, or if it's a waste of time or

destructive.

That means that if you want to create a product that will hook people, all you need to do is bake dopamine triggers into the product's design, and

that's going to reinforce the idea that doing it is worth doing again and again.

So, all the problematic apps, social media, shopping, games, news, all of those have different forms of dopamine triggers baked in. In the case of

those two categories, I would say novelty and unpredictability are two big triggers.

QUEST: But you have to balance this off, don't you? This is -- as I read your book, I found that to be the most difficult side. Balancing off the

utility of this magnificent machine that will give me maps, it will let me do banking, it will do -- all of it at the same time with the negative. How

do you balance it?

PRICE: Well, that's the challenge, right, because our phones are essential now and in many cases enjoyable but they're packed with all these

distractions and time-sucking things, too. So, I think the first step is the awareness that your phone is not just one monolith. It's a collection

of different apps, each of which have different values.

And I've never met anyone who's gotten sucked into Google Maps or who just like -- just spends hours a day in their banking app, you know. I actually

get to the point there, I've taken so much off my phone that I have personally checked my health app to look at my cholesterol numbers again

and again because they're pretty good. But in general, that's not a time suck.

So, I think the first step is to ask yourself what parts about your phone do you find necessary, practical or enjoyable and want to keep? And then

what parts are sucking you out of your life in a way that feels bad? Those are the things you want to reduce or eliminate.

QUEST: Where is this? Screen?

PRICE: Screen time under Settings.

QUEST: This is screen. Oh, crikey. That can't be right.

PRICE: You're like, there's not actually that many hours in the day.

QUEST: No, there's not that many. With the exception of these last couple of days, if I look back over the last three or four weeks, having read the

book and put in place, I can see definite reduction.

PRICE: Oh, interesting. And how do you feel? Even more importantly than the absolute number?

QUEST: Fine. I feel excellent about it.

PRICE: Yeah.

QUEST: It has made me notice my husband's use of his phone.

PRICE: I thought you were going to say, it's made me notice his smile.

QUEST: No, but you say you refer to this in the book.

PRICE: Yeah. Once you see this, that's the caveat. Once you start noticing this, then you can't unsee it. So, I tell people it's like kind of like

seeing a family member naked where you can't erase it from your mind. Like once you start noticing how much everyone's on their phone, like you're

kind of not able to get that out of your head.

QUEST: Did you find family and friends -- not belittled you or dismissed you, but they sort of are, why are you bothering with this? These phones

are great. We love our social media. Why are you spoiling the party?

PRICE: Not really. What I get more of these days is people like pre- emptively apologizing to me as if I'm this like figure that's going to judge them. It's like, I'm so sorry. I just needed to check my phone for

one second. I'm so sorry. Like, this happened just the past weekend.

A college friend was like, I really mean to be on my phone less this weekend because of you. And I'm like, okay, I'm not here to here to like,

judge you. Now, I feel really self-conscious if I pull out my phone to do anything. So, it's more me feeling self-conscious because I feel like now

I'm the phone person and like I'm not supposed to be on it at all.

But that's not actually the message of the book, as hopefully you took away.

[12:55:00]

QUEST: Yeah.

PRICE: It's more about being intentional and making sure that when we are on our phones, it's the result of a conscious decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Okay, so I just checked my screen time, daily average and usage and it's pretty embarrassing. Clearly, I have some work to do. Thank you,

Richard Quest, for that.

Well, organizers in New York have unveiled the newly redesigned Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. The start of the countdown now features a bow

tie pattern and what organizers say is a nod to the layout of Times Square. The ball is set to descend from the top of Times Square on Sunday night

with nearly a million people expected to attend and millions more set to watch around the world. Join us on New Year's Eve for our live coverage

around the clock as the world rings in 2024.

Special coverage begins just before midnight in Sydney, which is midday in London, and morning in New York. And it carries on throughout the day and

evening. Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thank you so much for watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END