captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday june 21st. thousands flock to "mother emanuel" church in charleston for its first service since a gunman killed nine parishioners. and in our signature segment from israel, a new wave of arab lawmakers pledge to improve the social and economic conditions of israel's arab minority. next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by:

corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thanks for joining us. in charleston, south carolina this morning, mother emanuel church was filled to capacity and hundreds more gathered outside for the first service since the mass shooting that took the lives of nine parishioners wednesday. >> we ask, oh god, that you will guide and direct and strengthen those families who have been victimized by that horrible situation. >> sreenivasan: clergy called for solace, but also for accountability. >> we're going to pursue justice and we're going to be vigilant

and we are going to hold our elected officials and others accountable to do the right thing. >> sreenivasan: churches across charleston rang their bells in unison, as a sign of solidarity. last evening, hundreds of demonstrators marched peacefully through charleston, protesting racism and mourning the deaths of the nine shooting victims. at the end of the march demonstrators hung banners with the names of the victims on the" daughters of the confederacy" building. at another rally in columbia, the state capitol, protesters demanded that the state legislature remove the confederate battle flag. talk of the flag dominated the sunday talk shows. on a.b.c.'s "this week," south carolina legislator and pastor carl anderson said he will support a bill to remove the flag when state lawmakers reconvene early next year. >> it will be a bipartisan bill for us to move that confederate

flag, put it in a museum somewhere in columbia, where it will be off of the state capitol grounds. >> sreenivasan: the national head of the n.a.a.c.p. cornell william brooks told c.b.s. news' face the nation the confederate flag represents bigotry. >> there are white nationalist groups across the country who see that flag as representing their values. it's an anachronistic emblem of a bygone era at best, and most likely and most representative of a set of values that run contradictory, that run counter to who we are as americans. it has to come down, it must come down. >> sreenivasan: but on the same broadcast, south carolina republican senator tim scott would not say if he wanted the flag to stay or go. >> i am looking forward to our state leaders getting together and having a robust conversation after the funerals about what's the next step. >> sreenivasan: former republican presidential candidate mitt romney called for removing the flag from the state capitol grounds in a tweet, but some current presidential republican contenders say it is

an issue for south carolinians to sort out. candidate and former senator rick santorum said as much to a.b.c.'s martha raddatz. >> i take the position that the federal government has no role in this. >> but you're a candidate, you take no position? >> i'm not a south carolinian these are decisions to be made. i don't think federal candidates should be making decisions or opining. >> sreenivasan: like many all black churches in the south charleston's a.m.e. church has faced racially motivated violence throughout its 200-year history, forcing its doors to be shut several times. newshour's ivette feliciano reports. >> reporter: it's one of the most historically significant religious institutions in the south with a formation is closely tied to charleston's history as a major slave trade port. in the early 1800s a freed slave left his methodist church in

protest of discriminatory rules against its black members. morris brown became the first ordained minister of the african methodist episcopal church and aligned the group with the "free african society" founded three decades earlier in decades earlier in philadelphia. thousands of the charleston's black worshippers followed him. in 1822 the building was burned down by an angry mob of white supremacists after church leaders were accused of trying to organize a slave revolt, for which dozens of the accused were tried and executed. in 1834, south carolina outlawed all black churches, forcing the congregation to go underground until the end of the civil war. after reorganizing, the church added the word "emanuel" to its name, hebrew for "god is with us". in 1886 the building was ravaged by an earthquake and rebuilt five years later with the now iconic steeple. in the years that followed luminaries such as booker t.

washington and martin luther king jr. visited the church. and today, once again following an act of violence, the church has reopened its doors, maintaining its position as beacon of comfort and strength for the city's black population. >> sreenivasan: now to greece where prime minister alexis tsipras is running out of time to save his country from potential economic collapse. tsipras will make his case for financial relief at an emergency eurozone summit tomorrow, hoping to head off a looming one-point- six billion euro debt payment which is due by june 30th. wall street journal reporter ian talley joins me to explain what's at stake in these negotiations. >> so ian, we all kind of have this debt fatigue, this cycle, gross is on the brink greece is not on the brink. how significantly is this? >> tomorrow is a criticalling

juncture. -- jurnght chur. a failure to get agreement after months of negotiations. what's at stake is a failed state in europe. at stake is potential financial contagion. some people say europe is better prepared but as ben bernanke said, the finances weren't really at hands before the financial crisis no one knows how bad things could get. >> we saw video of people taking out money from atms about what's so uncertain what's going to happen tomorrow. >> yeah. i think if there's a decision tomorrow a deal then there could be a slow unwinding of the crisis over the months. but few people are giving that deal a -- good odds. more likely is failure to get agreement and tuesday comes along and there's basically financial martial law imposed. capital controls so that frantic

customers, markets depositors can't take their cash out en masse which would put greece already in a crisis into a financial maelstrom. >> what happens with theirs position in the euro zone if this debt deal doesn't goes through? >> many have been warning of a financial exit. no one's ruling that out. at the same time, there are other possibilities that greece could issue iou's denominated in euros, they could keep it within the euro zone still having a financial and political crisis. there is very much a risk of a greek exit. i think another worry about not just greece exiting is that being the first domino of other political factions gaining ground in europe that also want to leave europe. you could see the beginning of the end of the monetary union as

we know it. though many analysts and economists say, that is not the likeliest option. there is still a desire in greece, there is still a desire in europe to hold that monetary union together. so while tomorrow is a critical juncture it is not the complete end-game. >> all right, ian talley, from the wall street journalq-joining us from washington, thank you so much. >> sreenivasan: and tonight, in our signature segment, we take you to israel, where a close and contentious election this spring provided prime minister benjamin netanyahu with a fourth term in office, and brought in a new wave of arab lawmakers, uniting as a voting bloc called "the joint list". it's the first time arab lawmakers from different parties have joined together. they've pledged to improve the social and economic conditions of israel's arab minority. newshour special correspondent martin fletcher has the story. >> reporter: israel's home to

more than eight million people, and while it's known as a jewish state, one in five is arab: muslims and christians. the largest minority group in the country, arab israelis have few leadership roles in the country's social and government institutions, and economically, they trail far behind the jewish majority. nearly half of israel's arabs live in poverty. guy ben-porat studies minority issues at israel's ben-gurion university. >> sreenivasan: but today, after arab political parties joined forces and then captured 13 of the israeli parliament's 120 seats, a new generation of arab lawmakers wants to change things. in his very first speech to israel's parliament, or knesset newly-elected member yousef jabareen called for more equality for israeli arabs: more acceptance of arab culture, more jewish-arab dialogue on

campuses, and above all, an arab university. >> i myself, you know i'm an academic, i'm a professional i'm an expert in educational issues, but i have zero influence on the curriculum in, you know, on the issues that my kids are being taught at the arab schools. >> reporter: aida touma-sliman, another new arab member of parliament and the first arab in israel's history to chair a permanent parliamentary committee, says she'll emphasize women's rights. >> reporter: mark regev is prime minister benjamin netanyahu's long-time spokesman. and he says that's exactly what the israeli government wants too. >> i agree more needs to be done. e're working on education both

for men and for women. we're working on investment and encouraging tax breaks for people to invest in the arab sector. we did a public campaign spent by taxpayers' money encouraging employers to employ israeli arabs. we are fully committed to seeing those israeli arabs, the israeli arab community, as a full participant in the economy. >> reporter: as citizens, arab israelis are guaranteed the same legal rights as the jewish majority. but the new arab leadership in parliament says just spending money won't solve the deeper issues of inequality.

>> reporter: the israeli arabs, or as some of them prefer to be called, palestinians living in israel, are the descendants of the 150000 arabs who remained in israel in 1948 following israel's war of independence, what some arabs call the naqba the catastrophe. today there are one point seven million arabs here, 20% of the population. yet only 8% of government employees are arabs. arabs have only 3% of jobs in academia. only 2% of arab computer science graduates found work in high- tech, one of the main drivers of israel's economy. the prime minister's spokesman mark regev insists that despite their problems in israel, israeli arabs still have it far better than other arabs in the middle east. >> i think it's important to look at the full-- the half glass that's full. i mean let's remember that israeli arabs are the only arabs in an entire vast region of the

greater middle east that have consistently enjoyed full democratic rights: the right to vote, the right to freedom of religion, freedom of organization and so forth. rights that their neighbors in the surrounding arab countries unfortunately could only dream of. >> reporter: since israel's first elections in 1949, arab citizens have held seats in the country's parliament. but they've never been part of a governing coalition and until this election, they were splintered across a range of political factions. this spring, however, four arab israeli parties ran a unified campaign. their coalition drew international attention and some analysts said arabs might finally have a seat at the table. but on election day prime minister netanyahu called on his supporters to come to the polls because, quote, "arabs are voting in droves." his comments were widely

denounced. president obama called them quote, "contrary to what is the best of israel's traditions." >> he publicly apologized for his remarks, which were misinterpreted. he has a consistent record. and we are fully committed to seeing complete equality of our citizens. we want to make sure that all israelis, arab israelis too feel that israel is their home. >> reporter: but for some arab citizens of israel, like arab actress and artist raida adon, israel can feel like a foreign land. adon's video artwork is featured in a gallery in the town of um el fahem. it's a part of israel known as the arab triangle, a string of israeli arab towns and villages close to the west bank border. with fifty thousand people, um el fahem is israel's second largest arab town. raida adon's film depicts the arab refugee exodus in 1948. but her message is for today. >> you cannot listen to their screams. there's no one hear their screams. and that's the situation here.

no one hear us. no one seen us. when i'm talking with the jews, i'm not say to them that you are jealous, you make this, you take my land, you take, no. i want him just to listen to my sorrow. i want him to respect my identity and to respect my language and to respect everything that i am doing like i respect him. >> reporter: instead, a right- wing campaign ad during israel's march elections resurrected a long-running threat to expel some residents of the arab triangle. ariel to israel, um el fahem to palestine, the slogan goes. meaning, the land of some west bank jewish settlements becomes part of israel, and um el fahem and other arab towns and villages become part of a future palestine. under the proposal about 300,000 israeli arabs would lose their israeli citizenship. this is baart'a, one of the

towns under threat. it sounds simple. >> reporter: the border between israel and the west bank runs right through this stone over here, the so-called green line. the proposal is that the arabs who live on this side of this stone, which is israel, become members of a future palestinian state on this side of the line. the proposal might have been campaign sloganeering-- most analysts consider the swap idea a non-starter. but some arabs call it a move to de-legitimize their citizenship. prime minister netanyahu doesn't support the swap plan. and spokesman mark regev says the government has spent one and a half billion dollars over the last five years to help close the gap between arab and other citizens. that's $200 per person per year, spent on. >> education, health care, housing, other services for the arab community specifically to narrow those gaps, which are unacceptable quite frankly. >> reporter: but that's nowhere near enough, says odette hilwi who runs a school in the northern town of acre on israel's coast, funded by an ngo, payments from parents who

can afford it, and small government subsidies. she says arab israeli daycare centers don't have enough money, schools don't have enough classrooms, and all that means arab israeli children get a worse education than jewish children. >> ( translated ): if there would be money i would open a kids club here, but we need money, a place to help with homework and to play. >> reporter: back in the parliament, arab lawmakers agree. they say a lot more is needed than just talk. >> sreenivasan: in honor of father's day, learn more about how paid paternity leave compares for dads across the globe. view our interactive online at pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: a new u.n.

report reveals that the world's refugee crisis is getting worse. these numbers have grown to 59.5 million, a 40% increase within a span of just three years. according to the report, the that's the equivalent of the entire population of italy either fleeing war zones, ethnic or political persecution. for some insight on the crisis yesterday i spoke with somini sengupta of the new york times. i began by asking her to put the 60 million in perspective. >> what that means is, of those 60 million, about 14 million of them were forced to flee in the last year. and the rest have just been stuck. because the conflicts in their home lands have not subsided. at all. and some of them are stuck for generations. >> so we're not just talking about poverty or economic opportunity people choosing to leave but these are people who are forced to leave. >> absolutely not. yes. there's a big difference who the united nations calls refugees or

displaced people. they are fleeing war or persecution. they are not people who are leaving home to find a better life abroad like my parents did, like many americans did. these are people being forced to flee. they think they're only going to go away for a couple of months but they are stuck in a refugee camp where they lack proper food or water often their kids are not in school for years at a time. >> okay and where are some of these pathways happening, where are the countries that are creating the refugees and where do they land? >> syria remains for the last couple of years the largest single driver of this. there are 7.9 million syrians who are displaced. some of them are still inside syria but many have left in the neighboring countries. turkey is today the number one hosting country there are 1.5 million syrians in turkey. >> it is a strain on turkey.

>> absolutely. turkey, len knob -- lebanon, jordan. jordan, water scarce causes a lot of tension necessary those countries sometimes. one of the revealing things in this report is that one in four displaced people one in four refugees are actually in the poorest countries in the world. so for example ethiopia, one of the poorest nations on earth has something like 600,000 refugees. >> that doesn't have the infrastructure to support them in the first place. >> not at all. >> you have mentioned the reactions have been different in different parts of the world. europe is tightening, we have seen the boat people across the mediterranean the tragedies and the boats that have been sunk or sinking. what is europe struggling with compared to turkey takes 1 much

6 -- 1.6 million so far right? >> if they can settle among their 28 member states 40,000 refugees, versus 600,000 in ethiopia itself. >> the long term impact, explain that. >> the long term aspect can be especially hard for women and children. children don't go to school for years. in syria high level of lit ready but can't get a job. refugees are not allowed to work in many of these countries. women if they're running away from home by themselves with their children are especially vulnerable. sexual harassment rape, all kinds of protection issues for

women. >> okay somini sengupta of the new york times, thanks so much. >> thanks. >> sreenivasan: in the middle east, isis is reportedly planting mines and bombs among the ancient ruins in the syrian city of palmyra. the u.k.-based syrian observatory for human rights says it is not clear whether isis is planning to destroy the ruins or keep syrian forces out of the city. a possible setback in negotiations over iran's nuclear program: iran's parliament voted today to deny inspectors any access to military sites. at the same time, the lawmakers are demanding complete removal of all economic sanctions in exchange for any nuclear pact. the vote has not been enacted into law, but it does contradict a tentative agreement iranian negotiators made with china france, russia, the u.k., the u.s. and germany, that allows for some inspections. negotiators have set a june 30th deadline to reach a deal. they meet in vienna next week.

the number of american veterans wait-listed for healthcare services is reportedly fifty percent higher than it was a year ago. in the wake of a scandal over false records and long waiting lists, the department of veterans affairs expanded its patient capacity. but according to the new york times, the v.a. did not anticipate the demand for medical care would continue to soar. the v.a. is also facing a nearly $3 billion budget shortfall. the agency is reportedly considering furloughs and hiring freezes. and in rural virginia: an infusion of funding and a change in leadership could keep a historic private women's college open, at least for the next year. in march, sweet briar college announced it would shut down after more than 100 years of service. but graduates collected $12 million in pledges. last night, the state's attorney general announced an agreement to allow the alumnae to donate the money while the school makes sweeping changes in leadership. a judge still needs to approve the details of the agreement.

>> as we leave you tonight, congregants in churches across south carolina are planning a special church service outside mother emanuel this evenings. one of the victims of the shooting, state senator clementi pinkney will lay in state in the south carolina capital on wednesday. one is offering 10,000 to help cover funeral costs. that's it for newshour weekend, i'm hari sreenivasan, thanks for watching. captioning sponsored by wnet

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

[reflective music] ♪ ♪ [female vocalizing] ♪ ♪ (female narrator) walking in the light in deep, endless beauty. a memory filters through. carved against the canopy of sky are faces of ancient beings, smiling and familiar.