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French Anti-Terror Rally Makes History; Obama Does Not Attend Paris Unity Rally; Soaring French Anti-Semitic Violence in 2014; More Warnings for Americans Traveling; Jews to Immigrate to Israel

Aired January 11, 2015 - 19:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Paris.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in New York. We continue our coverage of the events in Paris.

Today here in France, a nationwide rally to show unity against terrorism was supposed to send a powerful message of I'm Jim Sciutto in Paris.

And I'm Brianna Keilar in New York. We continue our coverage of the events in Paris.

SCIUTTO: Today here in France, a nationwide rally to show unity against terrorism was supposed to send a powerful message of strength to the world. It did that, and so much more. World leaders from all over Europe, the Arab world, the Middle East, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Russia -- they linked arms and marched along with an estimated 3.7 million people. Not just in Paris, but in cities and towns all over France.

French government says this public turnout, millions of people with the same determination and strength, is the largest mobilization of people in their country's history.

Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As many as a million people, look at them here. Hundreds of thousands collected already, expected to take part. And they want to send a message. Terrorists who grip this country in fear for three long days will never win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: World leaders are here ranging from Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel, to Mahmoud Abbas the president of the Palestinian Authority, to British Prime Minister David Cameron, to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're in an all-out situation. France has declared war. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On that

square, which you can see right there in the middle of your picture, are three statues of mythical women -- they are the women "Liberte", "Egalite" and "Fraternite". That is what this country and the world is standing together to defend.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What they're obviously showing is that in the aftermath of what happened here over the past couple of days of these horrible terror acts is that France as a nation is not going to allow itself to be divided. They want to show unity and that's exactly what this rally is about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born as a Muslim. I have traveled to show solid solidarity. I may disagree with you, but I will die defending your right say it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: You might have noticed that in all of our coverage of those historic unity rallies here in Paris -- how many Obama senior administration officials, cabinet members, and top level U.S. diplomats were there? The answer was zero, none. The highest placed American representative at those rallies today was the U.S. ambassador to France.

Samuel Laurent a French journalist, Bob Baer is here again with me, as well as Shadi Hamid, Brookings Institution fellow.

I want to begin with you, if I can, Samuel Laurent. I spoke to a number of French today who noticed that American absence, senior American absence. I should note for our viewers the American attorney general was in France today, continues to be here for security meetings but did not go to the rally. Were the French people disappointed by that?

SAMUEL LAURENT, FRENCH JOURNALIST: I would say clearly, yes, because if you remember after September 11th, President Jacques Chirac was the first, if I recall, to come well and visit that time the U.S. after this terrible, this massive attack. Well, actually, in this circumstances on the other hand, what we can say is that the visit was extremely rushed for leaders and that we all know that the U.S. is having very strict security and safety rules and that obviously I would say moving the U.S. President in this place, and it's such a record (ph) time, would have been hazardous as much as it was for the others.

So obviously this is something, maybe a political gesture, but then obviously we don't know. But apart from that, in terms of security, that also made sense.

SCIUTTO: The Jacques Chirac visit after 9/11, I remember that. I also remember the French singing the U.S. National Anthem here in Paris at that moment.

LAURENT: Exactly. SCIUTTO: Bob Baer, that's a question, an issue that's been raised by a number of people that the security demands for the U.S. President, it is true, really greater than any. Is that in your view a reasonable justification?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Samuel is partly right, but on the other hand, security in a situation like this depends on the host government, and that would be the French. You know, keeping standoff, convoys. The Secret Service is close protection, but the real and true protection is provided by the French and they're clearly capable of doing that. I think there was zero risk really to the President.

I think it's a huge mistake because the French are key partners in the so-called war on terror and they are crucial for the fight in Africa against al Qaeda. They're also very important at fighting ISIS in Syria. So I think it was a serious mistake for the President or at least the Vice President not to show up.

SCIUTTO: You know, Brianna, I asked a senior State Department official about Secretary of State John Kerry. He has tremendous ties to France, comes here often on his trips. They made the point that he had a previous commitment not only to attend, but to be the lead speaker of an entrepreneurship summit in India. That was a reasonable explanation. They make the case that's a reasonable explanation from their end.

I wonder what the voices are saying, well, even from both sides of the aisle in the U.S. about this. Is there criticism in Washington as well?

KEILAR: I think there's some -- I think what you're seeing is happening at a time when there is some general criticism going on of President Obama and his foreign policy and really having too light of a touch. But yes, you did have John Kerry -- you have John Kerry in India. He is meeting with the new leader there in India. And obviously this is a very key trade partner for the U.S. and this comes at a time when I think President Obama wants to pivot away from the Middle East. And certainly he has to concentrate on terrorism. It's a big issue. But he's also trying to concentrate, I think, economically more toward the East. So that's where his priority is.

But I would say there are real security issues when the President travels. There is no doubt about that. There are threats against his life. Security is a major concern, but on the other hand, Jim, we've seen him travel to places where the host countries are far less questionable, I think, when it comes to being able to provide security.

Something that comes to mind would be Nelson Mandela's funeral -- remember, we saw even in that case there was a translator who wasn't really a translator and had some questionable mental health background and he was just within feet really of President Obama. So there are concerns, and yet, it's a calculation that the White House makes constantly about whether the President needs to go places and do things in areas that are dangerous. He's been to Kabul to the presidential palace before. Yes, it was a surprise. Yes, it took a lot of planning to pull that off. But at the same time, it's a calculation the White House makes. And in this case, they chose not to go and we're hearing from administration officials that it was because he felt, or they feel, certainly, defenders at the White House and in the administration, they feel that he was able to pay respects at the French embassy in the U.S. and also in his public statements about what happened in France.

SCIUTTO: We spoke earlier to Representative Adam Schiff, he's the ranking Democratic member on the House Intelligence Committee so certainly briefed in issues of counter-terror and risk, but also a Democrat. Here's what he had to say when I asked him about whether he thought this was a mistake.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in Paris.

President Obama did not attend today's unity reality in Paris, though more than 50 world leaders flew in just for today's event including Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, the British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- all of them marching through Paris streets to show their support. The U.S. ambassador to France Jane Hartley did attend.

I talked about the administration's decision not to attend at a more senior level with Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: I think it's always desirable when you have a cataclysmic event like this to have the President or the Vice President if possible or the Secretary of State who I know is away in India. We did have the Attorney General in Paris as well as the deputy secretary of Homeland Security there to confer, to show our support. They were not part of the march, I don't think, but they were there meeting with French officials.

Of course, the President called President Hollande as well as visited the French embassy. And you know, I think we certainly have shown solid solidarity. Would it have been desirable? Absolutely. But I think in many other ways the United States has shown its close connection and deep sympathy for what France is going through.

SCIUTTO: It seems in moments like this that a physical presence does make a difference -- just that image of those leaders often at loggerheads on other issues, for instance, the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian president, locking arms so close to each other walking down the street. Are you saying that it would have been desirable here to have, for instance, the American president or vice president? Do you think the administration made a mistake?

SCHIFF: Look, I think it's always desirable. It's not always practical given the nature of the President's responsibilities and the difficulty in trying to meet those all at the same time. Jim, I'm sure you could have said the same in terms of a personal visit to Ottawa or to Sydney. Regrettably, we're seeing a proliferation of these attacks around the world. So, desirable -- yes. Is it necessary to show U.S. solidarity? I think the French understand that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

SCIUTTO: Let's talk about the threat to the U.S. because you and I have talked about the concern among U.S. intelligence and counter- terror officials about lone wolf attacks in the U.S., as well as a continuing desire from groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which has a tie to the attackers here having a desire to attack Americans and Americans on U.S. soil. Based on what you see and hear in your briefings, what is the level of concern about such attacks in the U.S. today?

SCHIFF: Well, I think there's a lot of concern about potential attacks in the U.S., and there has been for some time. We understand that we are vulnerable not only to lone wolves or those that may become radicalized overseas, but to precisely the kind of armed assault that we saw in Paris.

We've been very fortunate not to have endured something like that before, although, of course, this does hearken back to the Boston marathon bombing. There you had two brothers just like in France that at least one had traveled overseas and become radicalized and through very simple devices, these were pressure cooker bombs, they were able to devastate Boston and shut the city down during a massive manhunt.

So some eerie similarities and similar to, Jim, to this respect, the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston were known to our authorities just as the brothers in France were known to French authorities. The challenge is that there just aren't the resources to keep everyone under watch. That is of deep concern. And those that left the surveillance of these two brothers in France undoubtedly went to surveil others that were of an even greater concern. So that's the challenge that we and the French and, indeed, many of our allies around the world face.

SCIUTTO: Did we learn something about the threat to the U.S. from these attacks that took place here in Paris? One thing that struck me is you had the Kouachi brothers -- those are the ones who carried out the attack on "Charlie Hebdo", the magazine, talking about ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. They said that to reporters and others.

You had Amedy Coulibaly who took the kosher market -- the people in the kosher market hostage who apparently recorded a video claiming allegiance to ISIS. Do we draw lines between these groups and who's influencing who and who's directing who more so than there are actually lines? Is it that young men like this might be radicalized by a number of groups and act on their own?

SCHIFF: Well, I think that is exactly right, Jim. They're very hard to categorize or pigeon hole. And if you look at it in the broader context of what's happened in Ottawa recently, and in Australia, in London before that, you see that there are a variety of affiliations, some with AQAP, some with ISIS potentially, some purely homegrown, some that may have acted on instructions, others that may have just been inspired to do so by online propaganda.

And, you know, you see this, you know, broad spectrum of potential vulnerabilities, and we have to try to address them all. That's an enormous challenge, and as you no doubt have seen, the President is going to be holding another summit on this topic in terms of our focus on our homeland to try to bring about a greater collaborative effort to protect the country, to work with community leaders and religious leaders. These are some of the steps in addition to having intelligence capabilities that are necessary to protect the country.

SCIUTTO: Well, certainly a great deal of nervousness here and in the U.S. as well. Representative Adam Schiff -- thanks very much for joining us. I know we'll continue this conversation going forward.

SCHIFF: Thanks, Jim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Anti-Semitic violence has soared in the last year here in France. We'll discuss possible reasons why and what can be done about it right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: And welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in Paris tonight.

There has been a staggering increase in anti-Semitic violence in France just over the last year. An official with an affiliate of the European Jewish congress tells CNN that violence against Jews rose 91 percent from 2013 to 2014. Officials also say twice as many French Jews moved to Israel during that same time period to escape that anti- Semitism and a climate of intolerance.

Earlier I spoke with Noam Meghira, he is vice president of the French Union of Jewish students as well as CNN global affairs analyst Bobby Ghosh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAM MEGHIRA, VICE PRESIDENT, FRENCH UNION OF JEWISH STUDENTS: I know that there's a lot of Jewish French (inaudible) that the number of increase this year, but I think that today the issue is that we have to cultivate about the French Jews that we will stay in France because there's a lot of Jews that will stay here and we think that the issue is to talk about them. Some people want to leave -- this is their choice.

SCIUTTO: Right.

MEGHIRA: But this is a minority. A majority of French-Jewish are in France and they want to live in France; they love this country and they want to stay here.

SCIUTTO: Right. And we saw an enormous turnout today in today's rally among the French Jewish community. Bobby, I wonder if I could ask you, are you aware of anything specific

that has happened that has caused this really remarkable upswing in violence against French Jews even before these attacks this week just over the course of the last year.

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, there are two things that are taking place simultaneously that sort of inform, and certainly there's the rise of the extreme right and the party of Marine le Pen which is sort of openly xenophobic and has frequently been accused of being anti-Semitic. And on the other side, you also see, as we've learned from the events of this week, the rise of Islamic radicalism. There's also a strong strain of anti-Semitism there.

So you've got this coming from two different sides of the political and religious spectrum. So the question is what is mainstream France doing to make young Jewish people or Jewish people in general feel protected and to prevent this kind of an exodus? And I wonder if Noam has a thought on that. I mean how does he feel caught between the two extremisms? Does he feel the French state is doing enough?

SCIUTTO: It's a good question for you. Are you getting the protection that you feel the French Jewish community needs?

MEGHIRA: Yes. So we met with French President Francois Hollande this morning. He said he will make more security for our Jewish people, but there is a lot of security for Jewish people following them. There is the (inaudible), the French Protection Movement in France. There is the police. And we have a lot of protection.

So, now I think that this protection will be increased because of the war against terrorism and there is a lot of danger -- the danger of the far right and the danger of (inaudible). I think that there is a lot of danger for Jewish, but for French people, too. Because we have saw that, and it's very, very sad that not only the Jewish were --

SCIUTTO: Targets.

MEGHIRA: -- were targets by these jihadists. They are "Charlie Hebdo", they are policemen. This is France that was a target.

SCIUTTO: Right. It is France that is a target.

MEGHIRA: That is the target.

SCIUTTO: Not just Muslims, et cetera. Noam thanks very much. It's good to hear that expression of confidence and commitment to staying in France. Good to have you on, Noam. Bobby Ghosh -- great to have you as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: In the wake of these attacks in France the group ISIS making new threats to the West including the U.S. We'll have more on that right after this.

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KEILAR: We have just learned hackers claim they're taking action in response to the massacre at the "Charlie Hebdo" satirical magazine. Members of the group Anonymous say they targeted a French jihadist Web site and redirected the site to a search engine called "Duck, Duck Go". Also hackers revealed dozens of Twitter accounts that they say belong to jihadists.

Let's get now back to Paris where Jim Sciutto is after a very historic day there -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: No question, Brianna.

Historic crowds marching through the streets of Paris for a unity rally in the wake of this week's deadly terror attacks. More than 40 world leaders flew into Paris just for today's event. President Obama, however, did not attend.

Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, has all the highlights.

PLEITGEN: Yes, well Jim, it was a gigantic crowd that gathered on the Place de la Republique which was the starting point of that unity march that was here earlier today. And it was interesting because it was literally people of all faiths here in this country that gathered. There were people from the Muslim community, from the Jewish community, from the Christian community as well. And they wanted to symbolize that. They wanted to show that their answer to these horrible attacks that happened here over the past couple of days was unity and that they would not be divided.

Of course, one of the big dangers that many people saw is that after all this took place is that, perhaps, it would be the radical voices that would take over and that would form the debate that would be leading the debate. However, today, France saw that its civil society would not be led into that. That, in fact, it would be the large majority that perhaps the state silenced for way too long that would now be leading this debate.

One of the main things that I witnessed and I found very heartwarming was that I had a lot of Muslims come up to me and they said, we want to show the world this that does not happen in our name. There was one imam who came here from a town pretty far away to say that he wanted to show his support for the Jewish community here in this country.

The other main message was, of course, is that France will not be intimidated, that they're not going to allow their way of life to be influenced by a bunch of radical terrorists. That they were going to take a stand here and that the majority would not allow itself to be divided -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Fred Pleitgen there.

A new ISIS video has prompted the FBI and Homeland Security Department to issue a new security bulletin in the U.S. The video is making the rounds online. In it, an ISIS spokesman calls for mujahedeen to rise up and kill soldiers, government employees, members of the media, and civilians. He specifically targeted the U.S., the U.K., and France -- all participants in the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.

Our terrorism experts are back, former CIA operative Bob Baer; former U.S. military attache in Syria Colonel Rick Francona; and CNN global affairs analyst, former Delta Force commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Reese.

Bob, I wonder if I can begin with you. Our viewers' heads must be spinning with each new terror warning every week or two. Sometimes in response to terror attacks, sometimes in response to new intelligence. So you have a new threat now in the wake of these attacks or new warning, I should say. How should Americans respond to that? Is there a measurable increase in the threat in the U.S. today?

BAER: Well, Jim, let me put it this way. For the last three or four years we've been saying, people like me, so-called experts and the rest of it, that someone's going to get hit in Europe very soon. And, indeed, it has happened. Now, I've gone to law enforcement sources here and I said is it going to happen here? Are there cells here? Do they have the weapons? Do they have the capabilities? And all they'll tell me is they're here and they can strike. I have no more details than that. They're friends of mine, and I -- they're not trying to lead me along.

So I think that we are closer to an attack here, but when, could it be a couple years? It all goes back to the conflict in the Middle East. The longer it goes on, the wars in Syria, Iraq, sub Saharan Africa, the more likely they're going to find ready recruits capable of making a strike similar to the one in Paris.

SCIUTTO: There was another warning that went out from the State Department a couple of days ago, worldwide warning, that when you read it, it says to Americans traveling abroad to be vigilant just about everywhere. It names virtually every continent and virtually every public place imaginable from shopping centers, to sporting events, museums, et cetera.

Jim Reese, I'm a dad. You're a dad. You're concerned about yourself and your loved ones. How do people process this information to make decisions? Because I think really, you know, whether it's a DHS warning, or a State Department travel warning, it's impossible to understand how it should change what we actually do.

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Jim, you're right. And it's difficult sometimes. The best thing we can do for all of our loved ones is to make sure that we're, one, diligent. That, two, that we just talked about where we're going, and what we're doing. We're not spiking who we are while we're out there. And really, we've talked, you and I have talked about this for several months now, is we have to teach our children, our friends, that we need to pay attention. And when you look at those sites that the federal government tells us to take a look at, you know, we need to either move through them or stay away from them. But just be very diligent and stay aware and say something if you see something. SCIUTTO: You hear that from U.S. law enforcement all the time. Rick Francona, one thing that certainly impressed me today here in Paris was even just a few days after very scary attacks, deadly attacks here, even during what we have reported is a new terror threat here in France, particularly targeting police, we saw all those millions of people come out in defiance of that.

I imagine, you know, that - listen, that's what we should all do, I suppose to some degree, because terrorism is about scaring people. What do you recommend? You spend so much time in the Middle East, in a crisis country in Syria. What do you recommend to people at home? How do they process these new warnings?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.) FORMER U.S. MILATARY ATTACHE: Well, I think - I think it's important that, you know, we continue our daily activities and we be vigilant as both Bob and Jim have said. But you can't change your entire life based on this because you'll be constantly doing nothing. I really am impressed with the outpouring of support that the French are doing, the French people are doing for their journalists and the rest of the world is coming together, but this is going to be short lived.

The terrorism threat is not going away. The terrorists will sit back and wait. I think it is only a matter of time before we see this again. The problem is, and we see this here, that these cells are so small. They operate below the radar. As Bob was mentioning, they're here, they're in the United States, but they're very hard to track. This cell had probably four people in it. The one that caused all of this problem.

We now see how much damage three people can do. I think this is the wave of the future. I think this is something we're going to have to address and it's going to be with us for a long time to come.

SCIUTTO: No question. Rick Francona, Jim Reese, Bob Baer, great to have you on.

Brianna, that's the new normal. You hear it so often. Just a handful of people with a couple of guns can cause so much mayhem. But, you know, we have to live our lives and we certainly saw that today in Paris.

KEILAR: Yes, all of the hundreds of thousands of people, millions across France, trying to make that point and they sure did. It was heard loud and clear, Jim. Today's unity rally in France, it was just as much about free speech, it was about honoring the lives of those lost in the terror attacks.

But you might be surprised to know that some of the leaders who traveled to Paris for this, well, they aren't always supporters of a free press back home. We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: It was certainly inspiring to see more than 40 world leaders and top officials at today's unity reality here in France, it highlighted a paradox of sorts. The rally was as much about standing up for free speech as it was for the victims of the recent terror attacks in France. Some of the leaders attending the rally have a less than stellar record when it comes to freedom of speech or of the press. Even cases some jailing reporters if they disagree with.

I want to tackle that topic with senior international correspondent Arwa Damon as well as Boston college professor of political science, Jonathan Laurence.

Arwa, you spent a lot of your time in countries where particularly in the region where we know less than stellar and frankly hypocritical records when it comes to press freedom. You think today, Turkey, for instance, where you're going to be based now has been cracking down on media. They showed up here. How do we balance that contradiction when you see those leaders show up? Does that make that partly an empty message?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It depends on how it all plays out afterwards. Yes, this was an attack against journalists. Yes, this was an attack against freedom of speech. But this also was a terrorist attack on a broader level, and perhaps that show of unity we were seeing from some of these more questionable countries when it comes to their own press freedoms was not necessarily because they believed that deeply in freedom of the press, but because they wanted to take a stance against terrorism. And so at this stage, that's what the focus is probably and should be. How do you move forward from here?

SCIUTTO: Can it - it's interesting because both on the terror side and the freedom of speech side, you've seen some unlikely leaders coming out and expressing their support or their condemnation. (INAUDIBLE) One from Hezbollah criticized these attacks. To see Hamas criticize these attacks. Just as on the other side you have dictatorial regimes frankly coming out to show their support. Is there any way this show of unity, as well as just the horribleness of these attacks, can shame even the questionable leaders into improving what they do?

DAMON: One can hope that that might be, you know, an outcome out of what's going to happen, but then there's also this fear that we heard echoed from a number of people that we spoke to. Whether they were Jewish or Muslim or merely French nationals. That this is just going to be what it was today. An amazing, phenomenal show of unity and, yet, nothing concrete is actually going to change.

SCIUTTO: Right. We won't know that, I mean, until we give it some time.

DAMON: Exactly, but people want to see change.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

DAMON: If there is the capacity to display the kind of compassion that we saw out there today, to transcend those deep divides that exist not just in France when it comes to religion or ethnicity or background, but throughout the entire world, and especially in some of these countries in the Middle East that are so fraught with violence. Then perhaps there's a way to tap into that compassion so that what we saw today, that unity, is not just that one act of a day.

SCIUTTO: Right. It's going to be in the followthrough. Jonathan Laurence, I want to ask you. Because there was some evidence during the mid 2000s that as Al Qaeda carried out deadlier and deadlier attacks in places such as Iraq that it was losing some of its support. And Americans might not know this, but Al Qaeda does have its supporters in that part of the world. It was losing some of that support.

I mean is there any evidence that with a particularly brutal attack like we saw at "Charlie Hebdo," and the video images of that cop lying on the street asking for his life and being executed, any evidence that that saps the support that we have to acknowledge for extremist groups, for terrorist groups such as ISIS, AQAP, et cetera?

JONATHAN LAURENCE, AUTHOR: Well, this is, unfortunately, the result, perhaps, of the success in breaking the leadership structure of Al Qaeda. Which is that you have an increasing likelihood of lone wolf attacks which are, perhaps, not directed by Al Qaeda central. Remember the Kouachi brothers are acting as an echo of al Awlaki, whom the United States killed in a drone strike years ago.

They don't need to have Al Zawahiri or Bin Laden or Al Awlaki even alive and well sending messages. They unfortunately were able to download a pdf from the internet, "Inspire" magazine," for example, which had listed the cartoonist at "Charlie Hebdo" as prime targets. And undertake this on their own and clearly they got the material from somewhere but the idea and the inspiration, unfortunately, does not require central organization.

SCIUTTO: Yes, these magazines not only provide the target list, they also provide the recipes for the bombs, et cetera.

Jonathan Laurence, Arwa Damon, great to have you. We'll have more news on this, the rally today, and increasing terror threats right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Millions of people marched and rallied today in Paris and across France. The largest such gathering in that country's history. The most common thing that we saw and heard in those rallies is "Je Suis Charlie," in solidarity with the people who died in that magazine office attack on Wednesday. But the city's Jewish community was rattled by this week's violence, too.

Remember, on Friday, the violence hostage incident happened at the kosher supermarket, four lives were lost there. Today that store is a memorial. CNN's Atika Shubert is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday in Paris. The city tries to return to a normal life. The bullet holes are still there for all to see at the kosher supermarket. A makeshift memorial nearby continues to grow as heavily armed police keep a watchful eye removing suspicious packages, alert and on guard.

On Sunday morning the Jewish community gathered here for prayers.

(on camera): Now, it's been like this all day. People have been streaming in to the site from across all different communities to bring flowers, light candles, but also with this message, (INAUDIBLE) means "I am a Jew," or I am Jewish. It's the French rallying cry for people here to show support for those Jewish victims specifically targeted in this attack.

(voice-over): Israeli politicians also came. Naftali Bennett, the controversial right wing leader of the Jewish home party shook hands with the Jewish Parisians at the scene comforting those who came to mourn with an offer to emigrate to Israel.

NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI LEADER: If they decide to come to Israel, we will accept them and embrace them. If they decide to stay here, we will continue to make sure that they're secure. The world has to wake up.

SHUBERT: Many French Jews we spoke with are now seriously considering that offer. This man told us "The Jewish community is no longer safe. The attacks against Jews are now sporadic and completely irregular. It's on the weekends, every day. There are anti-semitic attacks against the Jews in France and across Europe."

This woman told us, "I envision that I will leave for Israel when I have a good moment because unfortunately now, here, I'm afraid." France's chief rabbi says leaving France is an individual choice, but it won't solve the problem for the whole community.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Anybody can go to Israel but my problem, and the problem in France, we have an old one, but I think we need to say, again - (INAUDIBLE) happy like the Jewish in France. We need Jewish people can be happy. I think we can do that together only when we are together as friends.

SHUBERT: On Sunday, Parisians rallied in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors. But this week's targeted attack may convince some French Jews that France is no longer a safe place to call home.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Joining me now, we have Bob Baer. He's our national security analyst. We also have Retired Lt. Col. James Reese. Bob, we reported earlier the number of Jewish families leaving France, it has just spiked and they really say it isn't a tolerant place for them. They really don't feel safe and that's really something to that, Bob.

BAER: Oh, I think so. I mean, this attack on the kosher supermarket is something new. Al Qaeda has not previously gone after Jewish targets before. So this should concern them. Secondly, there's very large pro-Palestinian community in France which is you might say they're anti-semitic. And Israel is saying, listen, you'll be safer in Israel, and I think this will have a certain appeal to French Jews.

KEILAR: I mean, I think, Colonel, just, for instance, I think a lot of people learned about something that certainly Jews in France have been dealing with for a long time. Last year when a footballer talked about something - or not talked about, actually displayed a hand gesture, an arm gesture, called the kinel, which some people see as a Nazi salute. It has been popularized by an anti-semitic comic, and it has gone viral.

You have kids using this on social media, it is everywhere. And this is seen by people as really a sign of anti-semitism, this is the reality that I think maybe people in other countries, certainly not in the U.S. that you can't really appreciate. That's not something we see going on in the U.S., right, Colonel?

REESE: Well, Brianna, you're right, unfortunately if we pull back the black veil of reality to see what's there, that's where these things come up. It's really not going to matter what happened three days ago or what happened today. It's really going to matter what's happening here next week, both with the Jewish community and with the, you know, the French Algerian Islamic community, see where go.

Even last year, there was a French comedian who was censored for having some semetic comedy out there, and he was censored because in France, there's still a lot of guilt over what happened in World War III and the Jews that left and where they went during for their demise during World War II.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly the cooperation of the government there, and a lot of guilt, and in fact, actually, I believe the Nazi salute is banned in France. What do you think, Bob, when you look at - when you look at the reality and the divisions that we're seeing there? What can be done? What can be done to make French Jews feel, feel safer

BAER: I'm worried about France. I'm worried not just about this attack. I'm worried about the five to six million Muslims there which remain disaffected. I know there's been some simulated in the universities, in big corporation. The economy is lousy, it's got a weak government, Europe is in trouble. The euro is down, and there's a lot of insecurity running through that country, and you know, finally we had unity today, but in the future, if you really thought there was an anti-semettic movement, whether it's in the national front or the pro-Palestinian left, you might find a better home in Israel. So, again, I'll say that I think that there's a strong appeal for a lot of French Jews to leave and immigrate to Israel.

KEILAR: You can definitely see that. And clearly, Colonel, one of the solutions or something that France needs to strive for that perhaps it hasn't is to better integrate its Muslim community. You see a lot of isolation, you see in the Muslim community just proportionate levels of poverty and unemployment. Is that key or is the problem too far gone at this point? REESE: I think you've hit the mark. I mean that's exactly what we need, Brianna, but you know, a lot of people who have been talking to me the last couple of days about assimilation, you know, of the Islamic community, integration, but most of these people were born in France. Unfortunately, what this is, it really, they are considered a second class citizen in France. Even though they were born there. So they are second class citizens, and you have these no-go areas in France for people that were born and are French citizens by birth, it just doesn't make sense.

KEILAR: Yes, and they certainly do feel isolated and no doubt, you see that there is an appeal for some people to go towards extremism, it's horrible, but it's what we're seeing happening in France.

We could talk about this all day, but gentlemen, thanks so much for chatting with me about it, Bob Baer and Colonel Reese, thanks for being with me.

Just indelible images of historic day today. Up next, over a million people converged in this historic rally in the middle of Paris. We're going to show you how one photographer captured the moment.

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KEILAR: Peter Turnley is an award-winning American-born photographer who splits his time between Paris and New York. His photos have made the covers of "Newsweek," "Harpers," "National Geographic" and the "New Yorker." Turnly was at today's unity rally in Paris and he agreed to share how he saw this historic event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER TURNLEY, PHOTOGRAPHER (voice-over): I've lived in Paris for 40 years and have covered many of the most important international news stories of these past several decades.

On several occasions today, tears came to my eyes as I saw the sights and heard the voices and songs of the largest rally in French history since the liberation of Paris.

Today France spoke with a unified loud voice and said no to terrorism and yes to freedom of speech, liberty, and democracy. In the crowd of possibly two million faces, one could see people from all backgrounds, ethnic groups, religions, and walks of life, and together at many occasions they collectively shouted "viv la France."

I've seen in places like Berlin, Beijing, Prague, Bucharest and South Africa, the power of people when they stand up and hold hands and take a stand for what is right. Today, France stood together with millions of voices and hands together, expressed their pride and love for the values of freedom and love for each other and for their country and for life itself.

Today's rally offered a vision for the entire world in the midst of recent days of tragedy and terror of how beautiful and wonderful life can be when people stand together unified against violence and in defense of freedom.

I have now lived for more than half my life in Paris, having arrived here myself when I was 19 years old. Today like millions of others around me, I was Charlie, and my heart was French. Viv La France.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I want to bring in Jim Sciutto who is in Paris and talk about some of those images, we saw over and over, Jim, the pencil, this paying homage to freedom of expression, even from a magazine that was no doubt very provocative, and we also saw in these marches today, not only world leaders linking arms, but we saw a lot of Muslims who were such a part of the fabric of French life and really out there saying they reject this, these are false Muslims who committed these horrible acts and we saw what this was meant to be, a march of unity.

SCIUTTO: Brianna, over the last few days, we have experienced, we've witnessed painful and difficult lows. The shock of terror attacks, the pain, the fear, the sorrow, the mourning, and then today, we saw this tremendous high of unity across cultures, across countries, defiance, strength, and courage, such a relief to see that and inspiring, let's just hope that it's those highs that hold the day.

KEILAR: Yes, that certainly is the hope. Jim Sciutto, thank you so much. Anchoring from Paris for us this weekend.

I'm Brianna Keilar in New York, stay tuned to CNN and CNN.com for all of the latest developments, and I want to thank all of our international viewers. You will be returned to your regular scheduled programming.

On CNN, we have "THE HUNT" with John Walsh beginning right now.