Authorities Investigates the Attacks on Jewish Community
CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church.</s>HOWELL: And I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this morning. U.S. forces struck five facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to an Iranian-backed militia. The United States says the air strikes are in response to recent attacks on Iraqi bases that host American troops, including the one that killed a U.S. contractor on Friday. The U.S. warned it would take further action if necessary.</s>CHURCH: The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked President Trump Sunday for helping to prevent a terrorist attack. Russia's intelligence agency said a tip from Washington led to the arrest of two Russians suspected of planning attacks in St. Petersburg during New Year's celebrations.</s>HOWELL: In Texas, police are trying to find out the motive behind a deadly church shooting there just outside the city of Fort Worth. Two people were killed during a church service on Sunday. Authorities say two parishioners who were also volunteer members of the church security team returned fire, killing the shooter. A resilient Jewish community in Monsey, New York, will be celebrating Hanukkah on Monday despite a terrible attack at a rabbi's home. The suspect, Grafton Thomas, is accused of stabbing five people on Saturday. His attorney says that he has a history of mental illness, and he's pleading not guilty.</s>CHURCH: We now have video of the moment he was arrested in New York City. Two officers stopped his car, and he was handcuffed without a struggle. Meanwhile, New York City's mayor is promising to increase security in front of homes and worship centers so people feel safe.</s>HOWELL: And we're hearing from the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, telling CNN that the Jewish community just wants to feel safe, but he says it appears anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise.</s>MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): I think it's a combination of real fear that we've seen these attacks now all over the country, most horribly at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. And there's a fear that anti-Semitism is growing in America and becoming more and more violent. And for folks, that's very personal. It's literally if their kids go out in the street, are they going to be endangered? If they wear a symbol of their religion, will they become a target? It's getting very, very personal. What the Jewish community is asking for is support and protection, and what I announced today was three things. One, more NYPD presence in Jewish communities, more security cameras, the physical measures, but also the community-based measures. We're going to have patrols of community folks who go out, working with the NYPD, from a variety of ethnic backgrounds to make sure particularly if young people are in any way, shape, or form thinking of getting involved in hate crimes and anything negative, that there's intervention, that there's community members out there to find them and put them on the right path and stop them from doing the wrong thing. And then lastly in our schools, we have to continue to improve our curriculum to talk about the consequences of hate. If someone commits an act of anti-Semitism, well, they may think that's against a different community, but you know what? That's eventually going to come back to hurt you and your own community because that hatred spreads and never ends up in a good place.</s>CHURCH: Joining me now on the phone is Cedric Alexander. He is the former chief of police for Dekalb County in Georgia, and he was a member of President Barack Obama's task force on 21st century policing. He's also author of the book "The New Guardians: Policing in America's Communities for the 21st Century." Thank you so much for being with us.</s>CEDRIC ALEXANDER, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Thank you for having me.</s>CHURCH: So, New York's governor says words are not enough, and it's time for action. He's calling this attack domestic terrorism. Do you agree?</s>ALEXANDER: Well, certainly. I think New York is probably better than anyone in terms of having to have dealt with a great deal of terrorism, and certainly I think the governor's move to put into effect his hate crime task force was clearly evident of them taking this attack upon the Jewish community last night very seriously. So, I think you're going to see a lot of cooperation there between the state and local and federal law enforcement who are going to seek out as much information and intelligence information as they can as to what was the motive behind this attack. And even just as importantly, to begin to look at other attacks to the Jewish community around this country, and particularly around the New York community over the last week, over the last month, and a number of years.</s>CHURCH: Right.</s>ALEXANDER: Because there's clearly an uptick in attacks towards our Jewish communities here in this country. But we can also note that other communities of color and those in the gay and lesbian and transgender community have also seen an increase in violence.</s>CHURCH: Right.</s>ALEXANDER: And that is something that is just not going to be tolerated here in the United States.</s>CHURCH: And I do want to read you a statement from the anti- defamation league saying, this is at least the tenth anti-Semitic incident to hit the New York area in just the last week. When will enough be enough? It's time for leaders everywhere, Jewish and non- Jewish, to recognize that additional actions to protect the Jewish community are urgent. The Jewish community is under assault. All of America must hear our cry. So, Cedric Alexander, how should law enforcement agencies, especially on the local level, respond to this?</s>ALEXANDER: Well, not just local law enforcement, but how do we as a community as a whole, both public safety at our local, state, and federal level have already begun to investigate. They're doing things to add patrols to Jewish communities there in and around New York. But in addition, you have a governor and a state government there that is certainly going to do everything that they can to keep the Jewish community and other communities safe. And the Jewish community is absolutely right. An attack upon their community is an attack upon all of us. And as a nation, it's something we cannot stand for. So, it is incumbent that all of us in this country speak out publicly, verbally, public, not just at home, but speak out against this type of violence that is currently occurring in our Jewish communities across this country. And it's something none of us can tolerate, and it puts all of us at extreme risk.</s>CHURCH: Yes, and certainly the governor of New York has made it clear he will not tolerate this. So how much cooperation is there between the Hasidic Jewish community particularly and police, and could a better relationship between the two perhaps help prevent more violence and attacks like this?</s>ALEXANDER: Well, you know, I don't -- I can't -- you know, I don't know the history between the Hasidic community there and NYPD. But I do know this, that I have a number of friends and colleagues within NYPD, and they work diligently every day to make sure that they establish and maintain relationships throughout that entire community. So, I am pretty confident that the Hasidic community and NYPD are working together collaboratively to make sure that that community remains safe. There's reports that are currently going out today, and we heard them from the governor, is that there are going to be increased patrols in and around certain Jewish communities and in certain locations. So, it is just not incumbent upon police. It's incumbent upon all of us, the citizens there in New York and across this nation to do what we can to keep those in the Jewish community and those that are part of other groups that may feel that they are being threatened and have experienced violence. It is just something that none of us can tolerate and we must stick together, do this, and stand with those in the Jewish community who are certainly seeing this type of violence being imposed upon them for the last number of days. It is just absolutely unacceptable for any of us to stand on the sidelines.</s>CHURCH: Cedric Alexander, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.</s>ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.</s>HOWELL: The latest battle for a U.S. Civil Rights icon is personal. Congressman John Lewis opens up about his health and what lies ahead.