PBS NewsHour full episode, April 10, 2024

SCHIFRIN: At Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Old City, the end of the holy month of Ramadan is often festive and a treat for families. But this year Jerusalem could say that the lights of Eid are dimmed and its spirits appeased. Mustafa   and Emaan Abu Sway spent the last morning of Ramadan preparing za'atar... EMAAN ABU SWAY, Jerusalem resident:  Yes, I am making this for my grandchildren. NICK SCHIFRIN: ...a traditional Palestinian spice made from thyme. But in this time of turmoil, they say Ramadan has brought no joy. EMAAN ABU SWAY: Everyone here in Jerusalem is saddened simply by the situation in Gaza.

They don't have food. They don't have clothes. They live in tents. It's really bad for them. And we support them, but we do not celebrate Eid. NICK SCHIFRIN: Mustafa Abu Sway is an Islamic scholar and lecturer. He is a member of the prestigious Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem and for the past 12 years has worked at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam that hosts important personalities. MUSTAFA ABU SWAY, Islamic scholar, Al-Aqsa Mosque: Unfortunately, all these sad stories coming from the Gaza Strip had a great impact on our psyche and our hearts are broken. We are sad.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But every day this Ramadan, the Al-Aqsa complex welcomed tens of thousands of worshipers to break their fasts and pray together. Friday prayers used to attract more than 100,000 people. This relative peace remained a kind of silent defiance, even as the military wings of Hamas and spokesman Abu Obaida urged Palestinians to march on Al-Aqsa. ABU OBAIDA, Spokesperson, Hamas Military Wing (via translator): We call on all our people not to allow the occupation, to impose the facts on the ground. We also call on the mujahideen, the resistance fighters and the masses of our nation to declare jihad on every battlefield, in every theater.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tal Heinrich: TAL HEINRICH, Spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister: Extremist terrorist organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are trying to inflame the region and, even more so, and not just our region. They have already called for attacks against Israelis and Jews during Ramadan. NICK SCHIFRIN: But Netanyahu rejected calls from his own security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to ban Muslims under 70 from entering Al-Aqsa and restrict access even to Arab citizens of Israel. TAL HEINRICH: Worshipers will be allowed to enter the Temple Mount in similar numbers to previous years.

MUSTAFA ABU SWAY: Allowing all those young people from... from Jerusalem, but also those who have Israeli citizenship, to lower the temperature, I would say. But let's not forget that those from the West Bank were only allowed to enter men over 55 years old and women over 50 years old. to come to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. MUSTAFA BADER, professor, Dar al-Kalima University: I can't just leave. It's about a few miles north of where I am. And I can't just walk away. NICK SCHIFRIN: Mustafa Bader is a Palestinian lecturer and author at Dar al-Kalima in Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Visiting Al-Aqsa used to be the highlight of Ramadan.

Not this year. MUSTAFA BADER: They deprived me of practicing freedom of religion, but also of freedom of movement. I can't visit Jerusalem. I can't visit relatives who live there. When you take Jerusalem and don't allow us to visit it, it's like taking something from inside us. NICK SCHIFRIN: But their attention remains focused on Gaza, as the UN warns of impending famine and Gazans hold Eid prayers in the ruins of Rafah. MUSTAFA BADER: Palestine is losing a lot of people and it is very difficult not to know someone who has died in this conflict in Gaza. NICK SCHIFRIN: As for Abu Sway, he goes to work every day and talks to the faithful about ending the war.

MUSTAFA ABU SWAY: This is a call for a ceasefire or for sustained humanitarian aid, for a real Marshall Plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip. NICK SCHIFRIN: But that call feels far away, even in the Old City, with the sound of gunfire nearby and a war that's miles away, but also close to home. For "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin. GEOFF BENNETT: Some 80 years after her wartime efforts, the real-life Rosie the Riveter is being awarded the country's highest civilian honor by Congress. John Yang has the story. ANNOUNCER: The call was clear: Wake up, Mrs. America. JOHN YANG: Some of them went to work in factories during World War II to join the war effort, others to help make ends meet while their husbands fought in the war.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I have the great honor of presenting this medal to Rosie the Riveter. JOHN YANG: Today, about 30 of them represented their millions of hard-working brothers at the United States Capitol to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors. When the men went off to war, some six million women went to factories and shipyards, filling the jobs that the men had left. Between 1940 and 1945, women in the workforce rose from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent. They were nicknamed Rosie the Riveter, and were celebrated with an iconic poster, a Norman Rockwell painting and even a popular song.

At age 17, Mae Krier began working as a riveter on the B-17 assembly line at the Boeing plant in Seattle. She says she wanted to do her part in the war effort. MAE KRIER, World War II Riveter: I was Rosie the Riveter. We became very patriotic and did what our country needed and we were very proud of what we were doing. And we are proud to realize that we not only helped save our country. We help save the world. JOHN YANG: And she says she was sending a message across the Atlantic. MAE KRIER: I love telling the story of what Hitler said.

He said he would have no problem defeating the United States because American women couldn't produce. He said we are soft and spoiled. We spend too much time on cosmetic and frivolous things. I think we showed Hitler what American women were made of. JOHN YANG: When peace came and former soldiers returned to work, many Rosies lost their jobs or returned to more traditional roles. His service was quickly forgotten. MAE KRIER: After the war, everything was for the men, as they deserved. I don't mean to take that away from you at all. But men will tell you that they couldn't have won the war without what those women built.

About 40 years ago I wanted to recognize women. Wanted to. Many of our women didn't realize they were Rosie the Riveters. They would build the engines. They would build the electrical system. They would build the tires. We couldn't have gotten that plane off the ground if I hadn't done it for those women. And a lot of them didn't think they were Rosie because they didn't fit into that category. It's a nice honor. And I am very proud to be able to symbolically accept this medal for all of you. JOHN YANG: Today they received that long-awaited recognition. MAE KRIER: We are very proud of the women and girls who follow our example.

I think one of the most important things we left behind is what we have done for women. I think that's important. For all the Rosies around the world, we have gone down in history. Isn't it great? I love that. (Applause and applause) MAE KRIER: My last thought is, remember these four little words: We can do it. (Applause and applause) JOHN YANG: Krier, now 98, says he will never forget the day the war ended nearly seven decades ago. And now he'll probably never forget the day she and the millions of other Rosies were honored at the Capitol. For "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there's much more online, including a look at how some Native nations are taking the lead on climate change solutions. That's at PBS.org/NewsHour. And join us again here tomorrow night to see efforts to develop climate-friendly shipping vessels. And that's tonight's "NewsHour." I'm Geoff Bennett. To all of us here at "PBS NewsHour," thank you for joining us and have a good night.