 |  | January 2nd News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | 1. Pardons and prizes: five key takeaways from Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu The Guardian "Donald Trump hosted Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for lunch at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. In remarks to reporters before, during and after their meeting, the two leaders said that they were in broad agreement on most issues, from next steps in Gaza and the possibility of bombing Iran again, to how very deserving Trump is of getting another award." | | | | | | 2. Israel to bar 37 aid groups as UK and EU warn of severe impact in Gaza BBC "Israel is to revoke the licences of 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, saying they failed to meet requirements under new registration rules. ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières and Norwegian Refugee Council are among the aid agencies which will have their licences suspended on 1 January, with their operations to end within 60 days." | | | | | | 3. Israel’s Somaliland move all about ‘strategic objectives’: Somali president Al Jazeera "Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says Israel’s “unexpected and strange” recognition of Somaliland may have dire implications for Palestinians in Gaza and the Horn of Africa. “Somaliland has been claiming the secession issue for a long time, over the past three decades, and not one country in the world has recognised it,” Mohamud told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview from Istanbul, Turkiye, on Tuesday." | | | | | | 4. ‘We want the mullahs gone’: economic crisis sparks biggest protests in Iran since 2022 The Guardian "Alborz, a textile merchant in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, decided he could no longer sit on the sidelines. He closed his shop and took to the streets, joining merchants across Iran who shuttered their stores and students who took over their campuses to protest against declining economic conditions." | | | | | | 5. UAE says it will withdraw its remaining forces in Yemen after Saudi Arabia struck port city CNN "The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that it was pulling out its remaining forces in Yemen, after Saudi Arabia bombed the war-torn country’s port city of Mukalla following accusations that two ships from the UAE had delivered weapons and combat vehicles to separatist forces." | | | | | | 6. Syria imposes curfew in Latakia days after protests turn violent, state media says Reuters "Syrian security forces imposed a curfew on Latakia city, a bastion of the country's Alawite minority, state media reported on Tuesday, days after four people were killed in protests that spiralled into violence.
Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Muslim Alawite community, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government." | | | | | | 7. Victory against Israeli West Bank settlement offers Palestinians some hope Al Jazeera "For Alice Kisiya, a Palestinian Christian activist from Beit Jala in the occupied West Bank, this Christmas season is special. On Tuesday, Kisiya was able, for the first time since 2019, to set foot on her family’s land in the Christian village of al-Makhrour after an Israeli court ruling in June eventually forced Israeli settlers to leave the land and dismantle an illegal outpost." | | | | | | 8. Holy Land’s top Catholic leader visits Gaza parish, greeted by children in Santa hats and keffiyeh Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation "The top Catholic leader in the Holy Land visited the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church on Friday to share a message of Christmas hope and support as conditions in the war-torn territory slowly improve while the Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds into its third month. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was greeted by children in Santa hats and keffiyeh — the checkered headscarf that’s a global symbol of Palestinian nationalism — in the courtyard of the church compound, which was gaily decorated with twinkling lights and Christmas ornaments." | | | | | | 9. American Evangelicals’ Declining Support for Israel Arab Center Washington DC "Evangelical Christian support for Israel and its policies has long been one of the bedrock factors behind backing for Israel in the United States. Such support pervaded all sectors of American decision making at the executive and legislative levels and produced seemingly unlimited material, diplomatic, and political assistance to Israel. Recently, however, Evangelical backing of Israel has declined, leading to panic among Israeli policymakers and pro-Israel advocates, who are responding with major new initiatives to regain such support." | | | | | | | | Still Active: ACTION ALERT "Block the Bombs Act" On May 21st, 2025, House Resolution 3565 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives, also known as the "Block the Bombs Act." The resolution calls for a limit on the sale of bombs, ammunition (including white phosphorus), and ammunition manufacturing capability. The act comes as Israel has strengthened its assault on Gaza and the West Bank, with an estimated death toll since October 7th, 2023 standing at 54,000 Palestinian men, women, and children. Congress needs to pressure the Trump Administration to protect Palestinian civilians through the passage of HRes. 3565. Your voice can push your representative to support this vital resolution and limit offensive weapon capabilities of Israel, protecting Gazan civilians from relentless bombs. Contact your representative and urge them to support the initiative. | | | | | | | | Peacebuilding Lessons from the Middle East February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 2026 | Noon–2 PM
Instructor: The Rev’d Mae Elise Cannon, PhD, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
Offered at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale In a time of deep global division and conflict, this course invites participants to learn from the lived witness of Christians in the Middle East who embody faith, resilience, and hope amid adversity. Taught by the Rev’d Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), the course focuses on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, exploring how the church in the Holy Land seeks justice, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal in the face of ongoing struggle. Through an interdisciplinary blend of theology, history, and practical ministry, participants will engage in spiritual formation, examine models of conflict transformation, and gain tools for peacebuilding and advocacy. Together, we will explore what it means to “love one’s enemy” and move from apathy to action in the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East and in our own communities. | | | | | | Call to Prayer for Shadi Khoury On Sept, 8th 2025, after two years and eleven months of procrastination in the corridors of the occupation's courts, after an arrest accompanied by torture, Shadi's steadfastness during interrogation, a full year of house arrest, and thirty-seven consecutive court sessions, the judge issued his decision convicting Shadi. Please join us on Wednesdays 12:30pm EST as we pray for Shadi and all other affected by unjust violence. | | | | | | From CMEP's Own: An ancient cry and moment of truth in the Holy Land In this powerful firsthand reflection, Scott Wright the CMEP Board Member representing Pax Christi, shares his experience accompanying a Pax Christi International delegation to the Holy Land during the release of Kairos Palestine II: Faith in a Time of Genocide. Drawing on testimony from Palestinian Christian leaders and communities in Gaza and the West Bank, Wright lifts up the document’s urgent call for moral clarity, nonviolent resistance, and costly solidarity, challenging churches and Western nations to reject neutrality and respond faithfully to the suffering of the Palestinian people. | | | | | | CMEP Top 10 2025 Moments | Amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, CMEP has significantly expanded its capacity to address the complex challenges facing the region today. See the top 10 ways CMEP advocated for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East below. | | | | | | | | | | | | Support CMEP’s Work for Peace
If you value the programs and advocacy efforts highlighted in the bulletin, we invite you to partner with us. Your generosity makes it possible for CMEP to continue hosting events, leading education initiatives, and amplifying voices for justice and peace in the Middle East. If you would like to support CMEP in expanding this important work, please consider making a donation today. Thank you for standing with us. | | | | | | | | | | | | Receive the Name of a Palestinian Child Alive Today and Lift them up
in Prayer and Advocacy "Let Children Live" More than two million children in Gaza and the West Bank live under brutal oppression, their lives too often reduced to statistics. Yet each child is beloved by God. The Let Children Live campaign invites you to receive the name of a Palestinian child alive today and lift them up in prayer and advocacy. Together, we can remind the world of their dignity, hope, and right to a future. Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and our global partners in this urgent call to stand with children who deserve to live and thrive. | | | | | | Join CMEP from January 18–25, 2026 for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed January 18–25, 2026. This year’s theme, drawn from Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” , invites Christians around the world to reflect on unity as a sacred calling of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the week, CMEP will host prayer, reflection, and conversation centered on the unity of the global Christian community, with a particular focus on the witness and life of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenian clergy and speakers will join CMEP to pray together and engage a range of topics that affirm the shared faith, resilience, and interconnectedness of Christians worldwide. Additional details and speakers will be announced soon. | | | | Save the Date May 5-7: Joint Christian Advocacy Summit 2026 Join CMEP and a broad coalition of co-sponsors May 5-7, 2026 as we converge in Washington, DC for a Joint Christian Advocacy Summit for the Middle East. Centered on the theme “Do Right; Seek Justice (Is. 1:17): Christians Uniting Against Oppression in Palestine/Israel,” this gathering will equip and mobilize Christian advocates from across the country in support of U.S. policies that uphold dignity, human rights, and lasting security for all who call the region home. Attendees will learn from experts, gain advocacy skills, and have the opportunity to meet with their congressional offices to call for a just peace in the Holy Land. | | | | | | | | | | Contact Us Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 505
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222 info@cmep.org | | | | | | | |
