The Situation Room

Wolf Blitzer Interview with Russell Simmons

June 9, 2009

Relevant Transcript:

BLITZER: The president of the United States, Barack Obama you like him a lot. Is there anything he's done that's disappointed you so far?

SIMMONS: No, no, not -- I'm the chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

And the other day, he brought me to tears, his speech.

BLITZER: In Cairo?

SIMMONS: That's right, his speech. And that -- you know, that's what I do. I do Muslim-Jewish dialogue, along the chairman of the World Jewish Congress, Marc Schneier, Rabbi Schneier.

And, so, to see that kind of outreach -- and I believe in dialogue. I believe it's critical in this day and age not to have it. And the president owes it to communities to -- to check and see maybe there's some things that...

BLITZER: Is there hope that you can help bring these groups together? Because it seems so frustrating and hopeless out there, especially on the Israeli/Palestinian front.

SIMMONS: Well -- well, we have 52 programs across the country and across the world now. In England, in Germany, in France, we're starting these same kinds of programs, where imams speak in synagogues, synagogues speak in -- I mean, and -- and...

BLITZER: Rabbis.

SIMMONS: ... Rabbis speak in mosques. And that -- and those programs are very successful, and we're planting good seeds. And, so, it's -- it's about you deal your resources, using them as best you can.

The thing I ask is, if we want to go and speak in Cairo about having a better relationship with the Muslim community, then we have to cleanse our hearts of Islamophobia, which is a big problem here in America.