nick schifrin explains how migrants in rome feel forsaken by italy and the rest of europe. >> look at this street. look again. now consider, this is rome. in one of the world's great cities, in one the world's wealthiest countries, asylum seekers say their lives are worse here than in the country they fled. we don't have homes. we are homeless, jobless. everyone here is from eritrea. they left behind terrible violence looking for a better life. they didn't expect this. >> we don't have no real place to eat. it's not ordinary life. it's bad. >> his room is about 160 square feet. he shares it with 4 people. he's lived here for almost 5 years. ever since a harrowing 72-hour boat ride across the mediterranean. >> we arrive in the night, at least at 2am, we go to the land, and we distribute in every direction. >> the island of lampedusa has always been migrants' most appealing target. it's only 70 miles from the african coast, it's the closest entryway to europe. but last october, a boat full of people dreaming of a european future capsized, and nearly 400 died. in his first official visit

. >> nick schifrin in imam jordan. thank you for joining us. >> we have time for a question, so, nick, a first-hand look at the fall-out from the syrian law. what are we expecting from the conversation with syrian refugees? >> this is important. pope francis came to highlight the flight of syrian refugees. it 100,000 syrians are fleeing. by the end of year it will be the largest refugee crisis since world war ii. there's 20,000 syrian christian refugees, and he'll meet with 500 families, including one that this to flee syria through their politics and religion. >> i love nail polish. these books. and this make-up. >> reporter: when 20-year-old marian fled, she only had time to grab her most prized possessions. >> before we travelled to jordan, i felt so sad. >> her favourite memento a ring prescribed with welcoming god's kingdom. what she feels she and her country lost. >> my life was amazing. in syria there is a lot of freedom, more than here. >> marianne and her father fled a city that was a christian sang uary for 15

nick schifrin live for us in jerusalem. what happened here? >> reporter: these are protests, they mark the day when hundreds of thousands of palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now israel 1948-1949. the protesters came outside and clashed with israeli forces. palestinians were throwing rocks. israeli forces were firing back with tear gas. during those few hours of clashes two palestinian teenagers were killed since then. international comdemnation has been large. and a family has lost its oldest son. foit is no longer about when she lost her home when israel was formed. now it's how she lost her son. >> i lost everything. everything. my baby. >> nadeem was a 17-year-old. his father looks through his son's phone and sees the happy teenager that he was proud of. all the innocence. all the innocence. a child. on thursday morning nadeem went against his father's wishes and went to the protest. video taken by security cameras and released by two human rights organizations shows a quieter moment during the protests. that's n

nick schifrin.temple of magdalene. >>> why two confessed murderers have not been put on trial, six years after a brutal killing. >>> one of the biggest sporting venues in america. america. >> and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz. picture this. the fbi says marcheses from a 500 million heist have been spotted many years later. >>> a light show, sydney's spectacular show of light and music. >>> it's been six years since the mass murder of a family in new york state. the suspects confessed, but all these years there has been no trial. allen schauffler tells us about justice delayed. >> jonathan, there's an abundance of caution in this case because two people can be put to death 50 state of are byf washington. but the reflts shot and killed six years ago, say these tack advertise are intentional. >> michelle energy and her boyfriend, shot parents, brother and sister in lawl nieces and nephews. killing the older couple hiding the bodies then waiting for the young family to arrive for

nick schifrin has more.rz >> reporter: in the heart of occupied eastern ukraine, they mourn the death of a 21-year-old nurse shot at a check point. the west fears they are mourning the death of the 21st cent industry world order. >> this stops dead in the water the vision of a europe that is whole, undivided and secure. >> reporter: the interukrainian government calls this war. pro-russian supporters are capturing more government buildings. when government forces attempt to fight back, they largely failed. at stake the country that bridges west with east. >> if we don't stop this invasion there will be a europe that will be divided between a community of sovereign democracies, and an authoritarian regime. >> reporter: that was the cold war order when countries redrew board worse force. if russia grabs ukraine. >> you have russia unleashing a dynamic we thought ended 20 years ago. >> reporter: nato is threating the cold war balance according to russia. in 1990 it stopped at germany, in 1999 it added three mor

nick schifrin has more. >>> pope francis's anticipated trip to the holy land focuses on two things - refugees and reconciliation. he'll reach out to the jews by coming to the western wall, under the dome of the rock. he'll come to the church of the holy seppual kerr and have a meeting request the spiritual leader of the orthodox christians and confront a spate of violence, vandalism and graffiti and death threats. >> they started with the small things, and now we come to the personnel threats, the presence of the christians could be threatened if there's no peace. >> reporter: the poeep will com to the reeve -- pope will come to the refugee camp the the palestinians want the pope to hear the message of wanting to return to home, killing the idea of a jewish state. the pope will focus on refugees here and in jordan. this is the zaatari refugee camp home to 100,000 refugees. it's been here for two years. many people are living in tents here. all of the people here are muslim. some 17,000 syrian christians fled syria because of persecution, kidnapping and execution. pope francis will me

nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: look at this street. look again. now consider this is rome.of the world's great cities, and one of the wealthiest countries, asylum seekers lives here are worse than when they fled. everyone here is from aare treeia, they left behind terrible violence looking for a better life. >> we don't have any real place to either sleep. this is not a life. it is bad. >> reporter: his room is about 160 square feet. he shares it with four people. he has lived here for almost five years ever since a harrowing 72-hour boat ride across the mediterranean. >> every night at 2:00 we go [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the island of lampedusa has always been migrants most appealing target. it's the closest entry way to europe. only 70 miles from the african coast. but last october, a boat like this one, full of people dreaming of a european future capsized. nearly 400 died. pope francis made migrant deaths a rallying crowd. he urged the world to see the immigrant as our neighbor. >> translator: i needed to come here to pray, to carry out a gesture of closeness. >> rep

nick schifrin is there. what was special about the trip today? pope francis says he comes as a pilgrim. this evening with history iing meeting with the spiritual leader with the orthodox christians. the two events reenforcing a desire to bring peace to the middle east. >> pope francis walks into a crowd of the faithful and stops in shock. then walking past the palestinian flag he looks summer. israel separated bethlehem from jerusalem with a 25-foot high wall. israelis say it provide security. palestinians say it stifles light and steals land. >> my sterption of this is -- terms of interpretation of this is let god bless palestinians and israelis in order to destroy the wall. >> pope francis promised the trip would not be political. the actions are seen as recognition of the palestinian cause. he was the first pope to arrive in bethlehem without first arriving in israel. and he referred to pal stipe over israel's objections. >> translation: the time has dom put an end to the situation which is increasingly unacceptable. >> he met with the childre

watching is nick schifrin who is in jerusalem and nick, just take us through the momentousness, if you would like. there have been a couple of very important gestures that have come from the pope's visit to this, perhaps the world's most intractable conflict. >> reporter: it's been three in a row, a lot of gestures. the first in jordan. yesterday, we saw the pope reach out and highlight the certain syrian refugee crisis. he met with 500 christians at bethany beyond the jordan, the site where jesus was believed to have been baptized. >> that's something that he wanted to absolutely highlight with syria, the war there, calling for an end to it. then, of course, as we have been talking about, these remarkable images from bethlehem stopping at the separation wall on the border of bethlehem to pray. he stayed there for some five minutes. at one point, he looked up and almost was shocked by the size of it. the wall at that point is about seven or eight meters. palestinian officials very pleased with the pope basically endorsing the state of palestine. those words appear on his agenda and the

nick schifrin is following the visit. thank you for joining us this evening. what message is francis bringing to the holy land? >> reporter: before he came here, pope francis promised that this trip would not be political at all. it's impossible to come here, especially now, and not have to confront conflict. as you said francis focussed on the syrian conflict and spoke with syrian refugees and he spoke with palestine refugees and spent the day trying to ipp spire the down trodden and everyone in the region, starting with this first event. >> with a man that leaves a billion catholics lands in the holy land, pope francis brought his popularity, pope mobile and pleas for peace to 25,000 christians. [ speaking foreign language ] . >> it's a holiday. this is a new starting. with jesus. >>> they came from across the middle east, a rocky flags, lebanese flakes. jordanian christians say they are treated well. it's not the case from christions in neighbouring countries. >> it's a difficult time. we need this badly, from all the leaders to understand that we belong to

nick schifrin joins us leave from jerusalem. the pope said this would not be a political trip, but invited the palestinian and israeli president for talks at the vatican. can you tell us more about that? reporter: yes, this is a political statement by the pope. he did a few things. he was the first to land it bethlehem in the west bank. his agenda talked about the state of palestine, meeting the head of the state of palestine is what his aide said, over israeli objections. so the palestinians feel what the pope did was an endorsement of their state. what the israelis feel they'll get tomorrow is a similar indoorsment. pope francis goes to -- endorsement. pope francis goes to mt hertzel and they say that visit is an endorsement of their right. something that the pope did not promise to be a political statement or trip, but it has become that. >> you mentioned endorsements, but his predecessors have been there before. what makes the trip to different and monumental? >> reporter: well, again, those two things - mt hert zel and flyi

many have their doubts. >> we'll can go live to nick schifrin. from your report there's an array of candidates. what are they campaigning on? is it a matter of whether they look to the east or to the west? >> the main candidates are looking west wards and are petero poroshenko, who we saw, he was the member of the parliamentary committee that helped to negotiate the association agreement with europe, which has seen and analysts will see you would overhaul political life. it's a giant document calling for a form. judiciary, the economy and so on, if he were to be elected president and have the association agreement applied and to push for it, that would be significant. the person who is number two, the first and second placed candidates are almost neck and neck. viktor yanukovych has been prime minister twice, she was the woman gaoled for 2.5 years on charges that the west felt were trumped up by viktor yanukovych. who is now in russia. she wants closer ties with russia. the person that she is fighting for second or third place with according to t

nick schifrin hanick spicer has. >> reporter: it all started with an attack of ukrainian forces. with check points across slovyansk quickly changing hands. the wounded coming, tanks roll through the city, some with the flag of the self-styled republic of slovyansk. not all support the pro-russian movement. >> if they storm honestly i have a sharpened shovel at home and i'll come out with it. i don't have a machine gun. i asked, but they wouldn't give it to me. we have very few weapons, we're unarmed. welcome out. my wife will come who, who is russian, by the way. >> they say things on tv that they don't plan to attack us, but they have the troops. why do they have them here, so our people will kill each other? our people are killing each other. >> reporter: the government felt helpless. now it is engaged in a show of force fraught with risk. if there are many casualties that can only further stoke resentment. ukrainian troops move towards the city officer. protesters have reinforced barricades and continue to demand a referendum. nick spicer, al jazeera, kiev. >> there has been m

. >> nick schifrin voted with that generation called "born frees" with a glimpse of the new south africa>> in downtown johan he johannesburg, a generation undaunted by a troubled past is dancing, cheering and spinning its way to an integrated and hopeful future. . >> this entire area wants to get down to being really south african and making things work and move. >> this spot was once notorious foraysism and seg gregation and urban decay. it's the epicenter of a new south africa. >> this space has really allowed us to live out what we kind of ma'amming for ourselves. >> they are members of a unique generation old enough to remember apartheid, young enough not to be scarred by it. smart enough to move on. >> you gravitate to these places where it is a place that's not actually about the race. it's actually about a passion that people are all in to. >> those places are the bars, kichners, the naked bramfantine. it might be south africa's new model. >> this can teach south africa, there is a lot of patience, tolerance, but, also, opportunity. >> a lawyer. why not? >> does the world need ano

nick schifrin, al jazeera, jerusalem. >> the fukushima power plant is starting to release. a tsunami causing a meltdown of three reactors, tokyo electric power assuring the company that the water being released is well below the level of toxins allowed by the world health organization. >>> coming up, he is is getting ready for his retirement. why a vietnam vet is fighting the united states. >> return to go one of our top stories. the secretary of veteran's affairs is under fire. erik shinseki meeting with the president at the white house. >> reporter: del, this has been building over the last several days ever since the story broke ten days ago about that va facility in arizona allegedly cooking the books. keeping two sets of waiting lists to demonstrate that they did not have people waiting for a long time, and incidentally making themselves eligible for bonuses and commendation, and a list hidden from the public and officials in washington that showed much longer wait times. the allegation is that those wait times resulted in the deaths of veterans. however it's resulted

so clearly, pope francis trying to take things further than the two predecessors. >> nick schifrin joining us live. thank you for being with us. the pope's schedule is certainly jam-packed. next he will travel to bethlehem where he will visit the church of the nativity as nick mentioned. he will fly to tel aviv to be welcomed by the israeli. after that, he goes to jerusalem where he will visit the western wall and meet the mufti of jerusalem and fly back before returning home finally to the vatican. tomorrow could be a monumental day for the future of ukraine. sunday's presidential election is set to take place, the first since the ousting of prime minister victor yanukovych. ukrainian forces and pro-russian separatists have each engaged in a series of deadly clashes this week. for more, bring in dana lewis live in kiev. dana, it's just past 1:00 a.m. the election is hours away. what is the atmosphere like there on the ground? are people confid he want that they do, in fact, know which way this election is going to swing? >> reporter: well, morgan, it certainly depends upon where you are o

nick schifrin, today was the first time a pope travelled into the west bank rather than entering via israel. what symbolism does that hold for palestinians? >> well, the pope is endorsing the idea of the state of palestine. if you look at the agenda he visits the state of palestine. they visited with the head of the state of palestine. he spent time to highlight the plight of palestinians. he will meet with refugees and what the most powerful images according to people here are talking about. photos of the pope stopping at the separatation barrier. israel builds the barrier. it separates bethlehem from the rest of the - from israel. and that barrier at that point is about 25 feet tall. the pope stopped and prayed there. he almost looked shocked at the size of the wall. a lot of palestinians are happy, as well as the mood, the tone of the visit that stopped at the wall. >> bethlehem used to be entirely christian, but now they make up no more than 20% of the population. has the pope expressed desire to express christianity on the trip? >> yes, absolutely. there's a lot of that. not onl

nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: in northern israel a catholic parade thanks god for protecting the image of virgin mary. today the christians feel they need protection. >> the muslims, the jews - more and more - amazing. >> we are afraid. because there was an escalation, very dangerous. >> that escalation is hate crimes against christians and israel. in this church the words jesus is garbage was scrawled on the side wall. recent graffiti threatens, "death to orab and christians and all those that hate israel", in this town, the top catholic official got this letter. >> you have to leave the country because your presence is a profamation to the holy land. the italian priest never received a death threat until now. >> any delay could have cost 100 people killed among. >> he sent the letter to the police, accusing them of doing nothing. >> why the authority yit didn't pay attention to the people. why now? they take enough steps to stop. >> the church believes the perpetrators are ultra nationalist orthodox jews. outside the site of king david's tomb, there's a rumour it will be handed

nick shirc schifrin reports. >> since u.s. troops left iraq, some observers say no country has the right pieces to win so the u.s. is playing for a draw. >> not a simple game anymore. and the united states is not in a position to check mate anyone. >> the region frankly is broken, it's angry, it's dysfunctional and there's no or little stability in the sense that you have a single power or even a group of powers that can somehow exert regional influence. >> reporter: so each middle eastern players is maneuvering for position. two u.s. wars ending maybe iran. >> countries like iran are very good chess players. >> iran now mainly shiite, has influence. in syria iranian sponsored fighters have helped save the bashar al-assad government which is also shia, and in lebanon, remains a stronghold. nuclear program which they say is for peaceful purposes only and eliminate crippling sanctions. >> this gives united states leverage, this gives the saudis leverage. >> saudi arabia and other mainly sunni countries line up against iran. help

nick schifrin, al jazeera, rome. >>> at al jazeera america taking a closer look at the immigration controversyere at home. our groundbreaking series, "borderland" had six americans retrace the steps of migrants who died trying to get to this country. they reunite to share their stories. you can see the borderland reunion on sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> up next, an update of the day's top stories and meet some of the n.f.l.'s newest stars. you are watching al jazeera america. ♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together reliably fast internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system. only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. >>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i am del walters. these are your headlines this hour. russians celebrating victory day honoring the end of world war i ii. vladimir putin taking pa

nick schifrin, al jazeera, are a ramalah. >> pope francis will visit israel: >>> 16 taliban fighters were killed, and those killed were involved in recent bomb attacks. from islamabad we have the details. >> reporter: the pakistani military aircraft founded positions in wirizistan saying they were targeting members of the taliban. a number of their fighters are also reported to be wounded. many took part in the early morning strikes in north waziristan. this at a time when there was warning that they would continue to strike against the military until the imposition of sharia law. it was a direct reprisal for the attacks carried out against security forces against pakistan. >> just ten years china has agreed to a landmark deal to buy russian national gas worth $400 billion. russian president vladimir putin is trying to strengthen relations with asia. >> china has greed to pay $400 billion for a 30-year supply of russian gas. the haggling over price was still going on until just a few hours earlier. the deal provides an economic and political boost for presidential vladimir putin. eur

we'll get a report from nick schifrin. but the pope is getting pretty big news on a statement about the sexual abuse many scabled that continues to -- scandal that continues to rock the catholic church. >> this comes from the papal plane. from here and israel to home in roam. he said that he would meet with victims of sexual abuse next month, that is a first in his papacy. he also said that three bishops were under investigation by the vatican for abuse related reasons. this is another example of him reaching out to the buzzed, the victims, he reached out to yrn are refugees there, and cp it's from syrian victims. >> at his final appearance, pope francis prayed for victims. a vandal responded to the pope's appeal with arson. police say a man with a pony tail browk into a church -- broke into a church and used a candle. >> you can smell the smoke and can you see how many fire extinguishers officials needed to defend the fireplace this comes on aday when pope francis was appealing for empathy and trying to demonstrate sympat

nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: good evening, for the last three days we have seen the pope tryingo reach out to communities and demonstrate that he understands they are suffering. on saturday we saw that in jordan, meeting with syrian ref fees. on sunday we saw that with the palestinians, and today we saw that with israels from the mourning to his final event, right next to that church over my left shoulder. at the final event of his holy land pilgrimage, pope francis called for fraternity and harmony. he held prayers. shortly after he left, just across this ally a man broke into the church and used a candle to set a fire. it has been a few hours, but you can still smell the smoke and see how many fire extinguishers the church officials needed to put out this fire which was right back here. you can see now police with defending the site of the fire. this comes on a day when the pope was calling for sympathy and empathy across the region. that started with a player dedicated to in his words an evil that has never been seen before. here we are lord shamed by what man was capable of

al jazeera's nick schifrin has more. >> morgan, pope francis says he has been astonished by things he has seen. not only at bullpen mafia with that unscheduled stop, but this evening historic leader with the are world leader of the palestinians. in the cradle of christianity, pope francis walks into the crowd of the faithful. seems to stop in shock. then walking past the palestinian flag he looks somber by what it sees. a 25 foot high wall separating israel and palestinians. >> my interpretation, let god bless the palestinians and israelis in order to destroy this wall. >> reporter: pope francis promised this trip would not be political, but recognition of the palestinian cause. he was the first pope to arrive in bullpen mafia without first arriving in israel. and his agenda repeatedly referred to the state of palestine over objections. >> he met with the children of palestinian refugees including 7-year-old raha. the west bank refugee camp. neighborhood that was supposed to be temporary. >> we struggle with the occupation. whenever it wants, you'll find them in any street. >> for rah

nick schifrin has been following the pope's visit from jordan's capital. before pope francis came here, he promised it wouldn't be a political trip. you can't come here without confronting conflict. he spent the day focussing on syria, the war and the refugees that fled the country. he spent the day trying to inspire the downtrodden and everyone in the region, starting with the first event - a mass. when the man that leads a billion catholics lands in the holy land, pope francis brought his popularity, and pleas for peace to 25,000 christians. [ speaking foreign language ] . >> it's a holiday. this is the new starting. with jesus. >>> it came from across the middle east, lots of lebanese flags. the jordanian christians say they are treated well. >> it's a difficult time. we need this badly. from all the leaders. to understand that we belong to god. we have to have the peace. we love peace. >> in his whom illy francis said peace was possible, but acknowledged it was not easy. >> peace is not something that can be brought and sold. it is a gift to be sought

nick schifrin reports. >> john, we have seen the pope trying to reach out, pointing out that he understandsheir suffering. we saw that in jordan, meeting with syrian refugees. right next to that church over my left shoulder. at the final event of his holy land pilgrimage, pope francis asked for understanding. shortly after he left just across this alley, a vandal responded to his appeal with arson. broke into a church and used a candle to set a fire. schooled the guest book and dozens of crosses. >> it's been an hour but you can still see how many are extinguisherextinguishers firefs needed to extinguish the fire. trying to demonstrate sympathy with the suffering across the region. that appeal started this morning. in a memorial dedicated to, in his words, an evil that's never been seen before. francis lit an eternal flame in the holocaust museum. never again he said. here we are lord shamed in what man created in your own image and likeness was capable of doing. responding to drail requests, francis visited the pillars of the state. >> pope francis is a friend of the jewish people. >> then

. >> and nick schifrin joins us from jerusalem.k, what does pope francis hope to accomplish on this trip? >> john, the pope is focusing on two things. refugees and reconciliation. he's going to visit jordan first and neighboring aman, and going to visit 500 syrian be be christians. every month 100,00 100,000 syrie fleeing their country. his second stop is bullpen mafia, where he will visit palestinian refugees. what they are going to do is give him a u.n. refugee i.d. with jesus's name on it. they'll claim jesus was the first refugee in the holy land. something his two predecessors began, he plans to take one step further, and visit mt. hertzel. that is really a kinds of nod to sovereignty of israel over this land. lastly but perhaps most importantly, john, he'll visit with the leader of the orthodox, a clan the church shunned for many years. this is a case of blow-back, people who wants access to him. he last wanted to touch people and see as many people as possible. so before he came here he insisted no bullet proof cars. the isr

. >> we'll be hearing from nick schifrin in jerusalem. but first in bethlehem. >> reporter: pope francis visited bethlehem. he was choppered in to a crowd of cheering thousands. his first stop was to meet with mahmood abbas. after there he got into the popemobile to make his way to manger square. but first he made an unexpected stop where he went up to the wall and prayed for five minutes under a graffiti sign that said, "pope, we need someone to speak about justice." although the pope has emphasized that his trip to the holy land was as a pilgrim, this act spoke louder than many words. he came back to hold a two-hour mass. he had lunch with five palestinian families before heading to a refugee camp to meet with children there. he'll head out to jerusalem and meet with the leader of the eastern orthodox church bartholomew i. >> in israel pope francis will continue the of the to strike a balance while giving a nod to the narrative of the location he is in. a few stops, one, mount hertzel, the too many of the four father of israel, the four

nick schifrin is following the visit from amman. >> when the man who leads a billion catholics lands in the holy land the faithful fill the stadium. pope francis brought his popularity, pope mobile and pleas for peace to 25,000 christians. [ speaking foreign language ] >> it's a holiday. this is a new starting. with jesus. >> they came from across the middle east. rocky flags. jordanians stay they are treated well. it's not the case for christians and neighbouring countries. >> it's a difficult time. we need it badly from all the leaders. to understand that we belong to god. we have to have the peace because we love peace. >> his omilly, peace was not easy. >> peace is not something that can be bought or sold. it is a gift to be sought patiently. >> pope francis came here to the site where jesus was believed to have been baptized and the message shifted, becoming sombre. >> much of the crowd were iraqi. 20,000 syrian christians fled, including joseph salba. trfferent in the last three years syrians suffered from violence. >> reporter: joseph fled to imam 18 months ago. in syria he an

more from nick schifrin in ayman. >> i love nail polish. the boots. and this make-up. >> reporter: when 20-year-old fled syria, she had time only to grab prized possessions. >> before we travel to jordan, i feel so sad. >> her favourite memento, a ring indescribed with the prayer that welcomes god's kingdom, which is what she feels see whether her country has lost. >> my life was so amazing. in syria there is a lot of freedom, more than here. >> she and her father fled a city that, for 150 years, was a christian sanctuary. but then the war arrived in maloola. joseph had to defend had family himself. >> translation: they shot at our house, at me. i had to go outside and shoot. >> he fled 18 months ago and his family followed. they live more comfortably than the hundreds of thousands in the refugee camp. joseph feels like he's imprisoned. he is not allowed to work. everything that he and his wife is saving for is lost. >> the most important thing for syrians is to educate his children. i don't have an income that would let me send my daughter to college

nick schifrin joins us from jerusalem with more. who is the pope meeting with tonight? . >> reporter: the pope came to jerusalem to have what the vatican says is the most important part of his trip. the reason that he's coming here. 50 years ago this month behind the walls, behind me, the catholic and orthodox churches ended a 900 year rift. benedict is coming to celebrate that 50th anniversary and condition the inner faith harmony. what he and the vatican are trying to do is break down walls. they spend an hour and a half. the head of the orthodox church and the head of the catholic church and a billion catholics and 300 million orthodox in the church of the holy seppual kerr. they prayed, leaned down together. it was emotional and moving for the pope, who has been talking about breaking down the walls between christians and moving forward on this unity started between the catholic and the orthodox church >>> there are reports that abbas and perez agreed to meet with the pope. can you tell us more about that agreement? >> what i described about the church of the holy s

our nick schifrin is there. >> in northern israel, thanking god for protecting the image of virgin mary. today it's these christians who feel they need protection. >> muslims and jews -- more and more. >> we are afraid because there was an escalation. >> that escalation is hate crimes against christians in israel. in this church, the word jesus is garbage is scrawled on the side of the wall. at the vatican's headquarters, graffiti, death to arabs and christians, and all those who hate israel. and then in the town where jesus is thought to have lived, the top official got this letter. >> you have to leave because your presence is a profane to the holy land. >> until now, the italian priest never received a death threat or ultimatum. >> any delay could cost 100 people killed among the christians. >> he sent the letter to the police, he accuses them of doing nothing. >> why they don't pay attention to those people? why now they don't take enough steps to stop them? >> the church believes the perpetrators are ultra nationalist orthodox jews. outside of king david's tomb and the last supper

nick schifrin, al jazeera, hebron. >> hebron is home to some 250,000 palestinians and about 700 jewishers. >> we are following breaking news on the jobs front. the april jobs numbers have just been released. as always, patricia sabga joins us. good morning? >> good morning. the numbers came in, and the number of jobs created beat expectations. so let's take aer look at the numbers. la last, the economy added 288,000 jobs. >> was much higher than the consensus estimates. the unemployment rate dipped to 6.3% but we have to temper that little as because the labor force participation rate, that's the number of people who are in work or who are actively looking for it work, that fell. let's dig a little deeper into the report because that headline number, 288,000 jobs, great news. a lot of economists were expecting this. it's a bit of a snap back. they were expecting it in the jobs creation after a brutal winter. let's look at average hourly earnings, unchanged a $24 and $0.31 an hour. we were hoping to see a little bit of a kick up in that because if we were going to see a kick up in that,