berkeley years those things put together focused on three issues i had a very special feeling about judaism i really wanted to help people and i think the rabbinate is a people profession and i enjoyed speaking putting all that together i was still choosing between being an attorney and a rabbi when i met my wife in college i told her i was either going to be a crabby or lawyer and they -- rabbi or a lawyer and she thought i was going to be an attorney i am the son of, father of, brother of, cousin of attorneys but in the end i decided to be a rabbi and it has been a wonderful wonderful life experience. >> born and raised in san francisco, you are a native san franciscan were your parents immigrants? >> no, my folks were both born in america of course my grandparents were born in the old country but my folks originally were from new york but then came to san francisco. >> and how would you -- it is a big question how would you characterize jewish life in those years in san francisco itself. >> um, well, from my point of view, it was a very lovely experience of going to hebrew school and bar

there are positive prayers in judaism that say may we have as many privileges as a pomegranate has seedsthe name was chosen after a strong fruit that symbolizes goodness and with the hope that we will always symbolize goodness in this facility. >> rimonim is not the only israeli prison whose name holds a special meaning. there is only one prison in the entire nation that houses female inmates. its name is neve tirza, which means oasis of strong women. >> the most striking thing about neve tirza is that it is the only female prison in israel, and it has 215 beds. to give you some perspective, the state of virginia has the same population as israel and six times as many female inmates. >> we have all types. long sentences, short sentences, minors, old women. everybody is here. every kind of crime you can think of, murderers, sex offenders, drug dealers, white collar. >> you have white-collar criminals with someone who has committed murder? >> right. >> like rimonim, neve tirza also places an emphasis on rehabilitation. and in certain areas could be mistaken for a college campus. but to inm

. >> we need to bring in rabbi rick jacobs, the president from the union for reformed judaism. you for being with us. i'm sure that you had a lot of conversations with your community there. how do they perceive this message from the presbyterian community? >> thank you. well, i actually was in detroit with heath and the presbyterian leadership at the general assembly and what's very clear to us is as you just mentioned, the zionism unsettled which is still available on the website, is one of the most hateful vicious attacks on judaism, the jewish people and the state of israel we have ever experienced. i went to detroit to engage with my presbyterian colleagues to be able to find a way to express to them how deeply hurtful it would be if they were to pass their divestment resolution which they did. and i just -- listening to my colleague and i'm very grateful to heath for the invitation for me to be at the general assembly, but when he says he's been around lots of jewish people who are not upset, i can tell you that i represent the overwhelming majority of the american jewish

. >> judaism, islam, christianty, buddhist, muslim. how do you do a better job providing service to your muslim patient? which in turn then enables you to do a better job and the patient is happy. it's kind of a win/win situation. we begin our presentations with a general overview with what it means to be a muslim because you can't really talk about interacting with your muslim patient if you don't know a little bit about islam and then we go into some of the specifics. you know, what do you do if you have a female patient with the head scarf? do you want to not have any males go in the room? what are the dietary restrictions and the patient who needs to pray and they're handicapped, how can they do that? end of life issues. we've done a few end of line panels. what are the specific things people want to know with a muslim patient at the end of life or an organ transplant, euthanasia. we get into the nitty-gritty. >> it's important, by the way, folks to talk about the end of life issues an get the work out before you get in the hospita

he wish he understood his judaism better, but okay. >> mel gibson, you were instrumental in giving him. >> i give him the credit. he was the most respected, beloved actor/producer/director until he exposed himself as a bigot. sure, we pointed it out. sure, we challenged it. but the response came from the american people. >> coming up next, the controversy about the muslim center near ground zero. >> al jazeera america's presents the system with joe burlinger observing a crime >> a shocking number of these eyewitnesses get it wrong >> how much would you remember? >> dark complected... medium height... you described most of the majority of the men in america >> sometimes witnesses get it right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it, that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america you have been with the organization for 50 years. what are your proudet time? >> it will be 50 years next july. i have not yet gone into the enter expe enter /* intros

he wish he understood his judaism better, but okay. >> mel gibson, you were instrumental in giving him. >> i give him the credit. he was the most respected, beloved actor/producer/director until he exposed himself as a bigot. sure, we pointed it out. sure, we challenged it. but the response came from the american people. >> coming up next, the controversy about the muslim center near ground zero. >> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now >> al jazeera america's presents the system with joe burlinger observing a crime >> a shocking number of these eyewitnesses get it wrong >> how much would you remember? >> dark complected... medium height... you d

leader bar that will my, the church -- bartholomew where the three churches come together, we've got judaism, the wall where people go, make pilgrimage to pray and then the dome of the rock, the mosque that's there and the tomb, the empty tomb. so there were a lot of beautiful things that were there at the holy land events, prayers and things that were significant, not just in their imagery but reality so it's remnant sanity of our -- rim reminiscent -- in belmont, california for the same such meeting here in san francisco archdiocese. they too are working together to bring the church together, the focus on that which we have in common and encourage that at the salutations of the holly cross. just a few days ago pope francis himself met with the jewish and muslim leaders on monday, may 26th as we were recording this and the focus was on abraham, the father in faith and that which brings us together. in a minute we are going to focus on some of the applications of all of this, where is this really happening in san francisco and the bay area, but also just on a more geographically national or

he wish he understood his judaism better, but okay. >> mel gibson, you were instrumental in giving him. >> i give him the credit. he was the most respected, beloved actor/producer/director until he exposed himself as a bigot. sure, we pointed it out. sure, we challenged it. but the response came from the american people. >> coming up next, the controversy about the muslim center near ground zero. . >> surge. >>> we are back on talk to al jazeera america with abe fausman. >> the survey found there is pretty high unfavorability of muslims. for jewish, favorable/unfavorable. muslims. were you surprised? >> no, because i have always known and understood bigotry is not unidimensional. people who hate juice hate others. sometimes muslims, hispanics, african americans. if you are a bigot, you are a bigot. today, it's you. tomorrow, maybe me. so we've always known that the level of bigotry is out there is not only directed at us. it's directed at the other. whoever the other is in that society and whoever they feel would be politically expedient to 6 out. >> given those various strong passiona

. >>> several religious groups, including the religious action center of reform judaism, welcomed thearbon pollution standards. they called them an important step toward curbing climate change and protecting public health. >>> existing power plants are the largest single source of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions. >>> one of the great dilemmas for some religious people can occur when doctrine seems to prevent care -- for instance, when a jehovah's witness refuses surgery because his or her beliefs prohibit blood transfusions. but there may be a way through that problem. betty rollin reports on a surgeon and a hospital operating without the need for transfusions. the technique is called bloodless surgery, and doctors performing it say it is simply good medicine. >> reporter: the kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses in cumming, georgia, justine and gary laclair are among the congregants. and they are among the 1.2 million jehovah's witnesses in the united states. the organization of jehovah's witnesses was begun in the late 19th century by a small group of bible students in pennsylv

. >> and it was there that i encountered, for the first time, judaism and islam. and i began to see that there were things in these other traditions that i could really relate to and that my view of religion had been very parochial, very limited. >> when her television career ended soon after, she decided to write a book called "a history of god." >> i expected this book to follow the skeptical course of its predecessors. >> but her studies took her in a different direction. >> i was living in a very remote part of london, so i was living in silence, and there was just me and the texts. and so, in that silence, they began to speak to me in a quite a different way. i had to leave clever, over-educated, vociferous, skeptical karen on the back burner, put her on to one side and get beyond the self. it was a discipline, i now realize, of what the greeks called ekstasis. it means stepping outside of the self, which is what compassion is. >> her ideas about god were also changing. >> all these theologians -- jewish, christian, and muslim -- insisted god is not another b

it is tough to observe judaism to your fullest while you are playing.ave to accept it. ,ou do not get off the holidays and i know it is not ideal sometimes, but you only have so many used to play bufootball. i try to do what i can, but i have a job to do,. . >> you have to withstand things like confessions on a regular on a -- concussions regular basis. have the nfl and teams put into place and the protections that you feel you can go out and do your job and not come back 10 ligh years later? >> they have done a lot of improvements into making sure to treat a concussion. we take the proper rest we need, happens, they have given us a good rundown of the side effects. >> what do you really talk about in the huddle? your recipes? no. [laughter] most of the conversation has to do with how the plays are going, what do we need to do to get better, did you see that? i try to keep it loose because i cannot play up tight. i like to laugh and joke and have fun. that is the attitude of bringing to the huddle. i think the guys like that. everyone has their own way

there will be religious figures from the three big religions represented here judaism, islam. pardon me. and christian it. there will be prayer. there will be music, the planting of an olive tree and a shaking of hands but nothing substantial as it were as regards the peace process. no talking about settlements, the right of return, the status of jerusalem. nothing like that as the pope, himself, tweeted, prayer is powerful and the hope here is that bringing together the leaders of is real and pal decide where people will hope in peace again. it's key to point out the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has not come. he is the actual decision maker when it comes otisisi side to pursuing peace. he is not here. a largely symbolic gesture here at the initiative of the pope. >> key that you mentioned, this is not a political move on the part of the pope. it is clear, isn't it, that he is willing to take some risks? >> i think it's part of his personality. he summarize many since his election last march with his statements on homosexuals, saying who am i to judge? about the p

this is like the basement of anything that judaism would stand for.he army of tomorrow is the group of children today. what is there for you when you become 18? 36% of the boys have to go. 45% of them witnessed the beating and the killing of their fathers. they immediately switch from the helpless father, who could not protect them, to somebody who is more thoughtful. jews who are armed with machine guns and military jeeps victimize these children, and when we allow the children to play this game as part of the therapy, many of the children prefer to play the role of the jew in the game because that is power. ♪ >> under the deep strains of the current intifada, very few israelis went on examining how to make core examples tense happen. she is -- core existence. >> i asked to speak with prime minister netanyahu. i wrote to him five times. and then he doesn't want to speak with me. in the letters i wrote i want you to look me in the eye and to tell me that my son died for a reason. i want you to look at me. he never had the courage to do it. i feel a re

is and was those words, read, remembered, perpetuated that would ensure the survival of jews and judaismrough the generations.

did you learn in all your research what was their relationship to their religious aspect of judaism? >> zero. these were, how shall i put it? secular jews as you could possibly imagine. gilbert came from a german jewish family whose grandfather, gilbert's father was born in philadelphia so they came in the great migration in the 1840s and 50s, these were not particularly religious jews, these were philadelphia's equivalence, almost genteel new york jewish community. for those with the kind of shoes that produced gilbert. eleanor likewise. they had two children, they were educated at quaker schools in philadelphia and they were nominal members of the synagogue, the synagogue where i had blank stares from a 13-year-old confirmation student is in suburbs, the same synagogue gilbert kraus was confirmed in 1913 that there is reason to believe that he rarely if ever crossed the threshold of a synagogue at any moment after 1913 and he lived until 1975. >> mostly for his book, search for meaning. he was given opportunities to escape nazi germany and from what he said recently, his family wer

likewise, a jazz musician and the outspoken jewish critical of visual and judaism recently wrote an article in which he defended him. now, at the present time the future of political extremism in america is far from certain. but there are several important social, political economic and demographic trends that could have far-reaching consequences in the center. for instance, according to census bureau projections, by the year 2050 white one oh longer comprise a majority of the american population. due in large part to increases in both the hispanic and asian segments of the population. now, this developer is viewed in nearly a public the terms in the white nationalist segment of the extreme right. by contrast in the chicano nationalist movement, this proposition is often pay with a sense of triumphalism because it prepares the way for the eventual -- of the american southwest the other 10 such as chronic disability in the middle east could exacerbate tensions between the muslim and jewish populations in america. and the festering economic crisis could create a great poll of the dispossessed

so that includes mormonism, c catholicism, judaism, muslimism. they need to be inclusive.y affect policy and. and so i don't think we can just walk away and say, you know, it's fine. you can discriminate as you wish. i think it's important for everyone not just mormons to be invested in this cause. >> with that letter you received from the bishop, said, quote, i invite you to strive to come back to full fellowship. it's a opportunity to begin to take anew. to qualify for the blessings of the temple. are you willing to do that? >> i'm unwilling to stop telling the truth that men and women are not equal in our church. i'm unwilling to step down from the organization i founded because it's what is in my heart. i can't go to church every sunday living a lie and saying i think something i don't. >> are you going appeal? is that next? how do you do that? >> i'm going appeal. even the disciplinary process in our church reflects the disparity between the way men and women treated. in my case, i was excommunicated by a panel of three men. if i were a man, it would have had to be a

so many jews dropped out of judaism at that time, it seems, from the geographic numbers. and if you fast forward to the early middle ages, when trade was beginning to expand, jews found themselveses in a very unusual position that they were a highly literate population among another population, which was almost illiterate. so there's a great advantage to be able to read and write contracts, to do arithmetic, and they became the natural sort of bankers of the middle ages which gave great rewards to people who were successful at that, and you can see how that would be a selective pressure but would have encouraged -- >> rose: one of the things you write and you repeated it here in this conversation, racism and discrimination are wrong as a material of principle negotiate science. science is about what is, not what it ought to be. its shifting stands do-- you say the injectual barriers erected to combat racism now stand in the way of studying the recent evolutionary past. how does it stand in the way? >> well, it stands in the way because if you can't-- if you can't accept r

the third largest religion in america, it is christianity, judaism, and islam. 2.6 million muslims in america. bill o'reilly doesn't understand the foundation of our country. a nation of immigrants. a melting pot. >> congressman, he is not, for the sack of beik sake of being . if he was a muslim, who cares. when you serve in your view as a veteran, would it matter is a father or soldier or a veteran or veteran's family member was muslim in the first place? >> no, not at all. this, we had paratroopers, 82nd airborne in baghdad 10 years ago that were muslim. we actually had ones that were, had their green card they weren't american citizens yet. they were earning their citizenship. let me fell you they were just as much of an american citizen as bill o'reilly, in fact, be better. because nape pucthey put it all lynn. and to see attacks against the military family. he knows it. he is playing for the crowd. >> let me ask you while i have you here, i know you were a j.a.g. lawyer, what do you think about the more serious part of the criticism, the administration aire

it's where judaism started. it's where they were. they had a kingdom there. then they got scattered. but every single saturday morning in synagogue they pray to see the place and to return to the place, and they remember it and--you know, so it never really left jewish consciousness. the only jews for whom it didn't matter were those who didn't like being jews very much. c-span: what was the draw for your daughter to live there instead of, say, living in the united states? and you've had more than one daughter live there? >> guest: well, they--no. there were--all three of them went there. one went for a year and another went for two years, but they--they weren't going stay. they came back. but this one went to go to school there. c-span: her name? >> guest: her name is ruth--or ruthie, actually. that's what everybody calls her and what happened: she went to the university and she met a boy. c-span: what university? >> guest: the hebrew university at jerusalem, and she met a boy and she married him and that was that. c-span: to this day. >> guest: and she is a

i didn't think we'd see the rise of anti-judaism in europe again. i figured the europeans would be too ashamed to ever allow that to happen. and yet we've seen it happen. and while the anti-defamation league has not done the best job f helping suppress the anti-jewish sentiment growing in growingnd that some see here in america, as we see middle easterners like iran saying they want to wipe out israel as the little satan and u.s. as the great satan, and you read the pleading that the attacks of the 9/11 wrote in his comfortable cell at guantanamo and he talked about and quoted the koran in essence to basis for wanting destroy all jewish people so that jews and christians are together as far as the radical islamists are concerned. we all need to be wiped out. and instead the anti-defamation league, noble endeavor, sent this letter to me that was received last week. we write to urge you, dear representative gohmert, we write to urge you to stop using inflammatory rhetoric in the immigration debate. your statements from the house floor that the current

they decided to hold it in a neutral place in the vatican garden, judaism, christianity and islam representedwo presidents will have a chance to say their own prayers and then they will plant an olive tree. the olive tree is the symbol of peace, also the symbol of the mediterranean lands, which are home to this complex, and then importantly, they will have an opportunity to meet privately, behind closed doors. if there were to be any political discussion going on, that would be the time it might happen. victor, christi? >> delia, the question is what is the fruit of this meeting? if this is a break from politics and a day for prayer, it's obvious that the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu is not in attendance. what is the result from this, the fruit, hopefully? >> victor, i think the way we have to look at this is, pope francis, we've called him the pope of the jester, a simple approach to complex problems. he said to both sides, come to my home at the vatican, like he would say to two friends who you wanted to get together to talk. he kind of brings a back to basics approach with