January 3rd News Bulletin

Carter signed treaties to hand over the Panama Canal and criticized Israel, drawing respect and fury past his one term.

From Panama to Palestine, Jimmy Carter refused to let his moral voice be silenced

The Guardian

 Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) mourns the passing of President Jimmy Carter and extends our sympathies to his family. From helping to broker the historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel to his work post presidency to help eradicate global diseases, President Carter dedicated his life to service on behalf of a more equitable world. We are grateful for his willingness to use his voice to push for justice, even when not popular, such as with his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. President Carter’s witness will endure through the work of the many he inspired throughout the world, including through the efforts of the Carter Center. CMEP is proud to continue the legacy of President Carter in the years to come.

 A worshiper lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity ahead of Christmas in the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank, on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Light a Candle for the Christians of the Near East- written by CMEP's emeritus Leadership Council member Amb. Patrick N. Theros

The National Herald

“During the Orthodox Christian Holy Season, which spans from the Feast of Saint Nicholas on December 6th to the Feast of Saint John the Baptist a month later, we should pay attention to the plight of Orthodox and other Eastern Christians in the Middle East. Historically, this region, stretching from Tangier to the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, was predominantly Christian. The Church of Persia encompassed much of present-day Iran, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf’s coasts. Renowned figures like Saint Isaac of Nineveh, an influential early Church Father, hailed from this area. Today, however, Christians comprise less than 4% of the population in the Levant and even fewer in Turkey and Iraq. In fact, increasing pressure from religious fundamentalists, both Muslim and Jewish, threatens to erase these indigenous Christian communities entirely.”

Pope Francis before the "Nativity of Bethlehem 2024" in the Paul VI Hall. Photo: Vatican News.

CMEP in the News- Pope Francis calls Israel’s bombing of Gaza children a “great cruelty”

Peoples Dispatch

“Pope Francis issued a sharp condemnation of the ongoing Israeli genocidal aggression on the Gaza strip this past weekend, just ahead of Christmas. His statements came after the Gaza Civil Defense rescue agency reported the killing of 12 people from the same family, including seven children, in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s northern city of Jabalia on Friday, December 20.The Pontiff lamented the bombing of children in Gaza with deep sorrow during his traditional address to the cardinals, bishops, priests and lay people of the Roman Curia at the Vatican on Saturday, December 21. In May 2024, the Palestinian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin revealed during her meeting with a delegation from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) that 3% of Gaza’s Christians were killed in the Israeli genocidal aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023.”

A rebel fighter in Damascus posed with his assault rifle earlier this month Gabriel Ferneini for WSJ.

It Was a Bad Year for the World’s Autocrats

The Wall Street Journal

“In Syria, rebels raced to Damascus, ending Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year-old dictatorship, which few in the outside world thought was in danger of collapse. In August, student protests sent Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year reign in Bangladesh crashing down. Other authoritarian leaders and their governments came under new pressure in 2024, from Nicolás Maduro’s iron-fisted regime in Venezuela to the mullahs of Iran to the military junta of Myanmar. In a world President Biden has cast as split between democracies aligned against a rising tide of autocracy, authoritarians suffered unexpected setbacks in 2024 that exposed their weaknesses, geopolitical analysts and historians said.”

Dec 16, 2024: Press Release: Advent 2024 Global Bishops and Christian Leaders Letter

This Advent season, as Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate the Prince of Peace, a groundbreaking global campaign, Advent Not Arms, is calling for an end to violence in Gaza and the broader Middle East. Organized as a collaboration between Embrace the Middle East (UK) and Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) in the United States, this campaign unites Christian leaders from more than 40 countries in a powerful plea for peace and the suspension of arms sales to Israel. In a powerful letter, more than 200 global Christian bishops and executive leaders are calling on world governments to take decisive action to end the ongoing violence in Gaza and the Middle East. The signatories demand an immediate ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid, and the suspension of arms sales to Israel, emphasizing the urgent need for justice and peace during the Advent season.

Dec 19, 2024 Advent Not Arms Frequently Asked Questions U.S.-Israel Arms Shipments

In this FAQ CMEP uncovers the extent of armaments that the United States has sent Israel since October 7th. The report uncovers that the United States has sent Israel over 50,000 tons of armaments at an estimated value between 6-17 Billion USD. If every military equipment delivery to Israel from the United States were spaced out evenly in time, this would then translate to a shipment of military aid to Israel approximately every 13 hours over the past 332 days since October 7th, highlighting the scale of U.S. complicity in war crimes in Gaza. Read more in the report.

CMEP Action Alert

During the Advent season (through Orthodox Christmas) Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and other partners are joining together to call for a suspension of arms sales to Israel and push for a comprehensive permanent ceasefire and an end to all violence. As Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank continue to suffer under the Israeli military aggression, the United States must end its active participation in the ongoing violence by halting all arms sales to Israel.

As Christians prepare for the season of Advent where we celebrate the Prince of Peace, please consider joining CMEP in our Advent not Arms campaign. Make your voices heard today by letting your members of Congress you want the U.S. government to prioritize peace and an end to violence over continuing to supply weapons that will cause further death and destruction.

Advent not Arms

Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and other partners this Advent season (through Orthodox Christmas) as we call for a suspension of arms sales to Israel and push for a comprehensive permanent ceasefire and end to all violence. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we invite you to journey with us in advocating of an holy season of peace through our campaign Advent Not Arms. Throughout the next several weeks we will provide multifaceted resources and events including a virtual and in person Advent vigils for peace, ways to reach out to your elected officials, and more as we continue to  pursue peace for all in Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, and all in the region. For more information and to contact your members of Congress click the link below.

This year, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and author and ethicist Andrew DeCort, PhD, for a series of prayerful reflections on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). From January 18-25th, Andrew will be joined each day at 12:00 EST by a different renowned guest to reflect on one of the beatitudes and pray for a just peace for the Middle East.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is observed each year as an opportunity to explore Christians' shared heritage and to enter more deeply into the faith that unites all us all. This year's overarching global theme, "Do You Believe?" (John 11:26) offers a way to see that faith is not just a static set of beliefs, but an active means of receiving grace.

As the World Council of Churches explains, 2025 also marks the 1700th anniversary of the first Christian Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, near Constantinople in 325 AD. This commemoration provides a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common faith of Christians, as expressed in the creed formulated during this council.

Registration link coming soon!

CMEP Announcement: Live Thursday News Briefings

Every Thursday, CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon held live briefings about the latest developments in the Middle East. We will pause our live Thursday news briefings for the rest of December as we observe the holiday season.  As we discern how to continue with these updates into 2025, we solicit your feedback on the format and timing of our weekly news summaries and whether or not you’ve found them helpful. Please click the link below and fill out the survey so we can hear your feedback!

A boy walks down a flooded road in between makeshift tents in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on Tuesday. Mohammad Al-Sawalhi/CNN.

‘We’re dying from the cold’: Displaced Palestinians battle winter in Gaza

CNN

“Standing barefoot in the mud with an empty container in hand at a crowded water station in central Gaza, Palestinian Alaa Al-Shawish is fearing the winter weather and looking for clean water for her family. Her family are living in a makeshift tent in Deir Al-Balah, after being displaced from Gaza City amid heavy Israeli bombardment. But their new home holds deadly perils of its own. “We’re dying from the cold. This is not life, this is not living – I pray every day that we die to be relieved from this life,” Alaa says as she fights back tears. “No food, no water, no life.”

Screen Grab from Video.

Israeli attacks kill at least 26 Palestinians across Gaza on New Year’s Day

Al- Jazeera

“Israeli attacks have killed at least 26 Palestinians, including children, in Gaza on New Year’s Day, as makeshift shelters for displaced people across the Strip flooded after days of heavy rain. The attacks were reported on Wednesday in Jabalia in northern Gaza, the Bureij refugee camp and Gaza City in central Gaza, and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said four children and one woman were among the dead. At least 10 other Palestinians were missing and believed to be under the rubble.”

A damaged ambulance outside Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza in October 2024 (file photo).

UN says Israeli attacks pushing Gaza healthcare towards total collapse

BBC

“The UN Human Rights Office says Israeli attacks on and around hospitals have pushed Gaza's healthcare system to "the brink of total collapse" and raised serious concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity. A new report describes a pattern in which Israeli forces struck, besieged and forcibly evacuated hospitals, leading to patients dying or being killed.”

Activists and relatives take part in a protest demanding the wearabouts of 4 activits who disappeared during the war between oppsotition groups and the former president Bashar al-Assad in Douma Syria Wednesday January 1, 2025 (AP Photo/ Mosa’ab Elshamy).

Protesters in Syria demand justice for disappeared activists and accountability from all factions

AP News

“Protesters in Syria held a sit-in Wednesday demanding justice for four activists who were forcibly disappeared in 2013 and whose fate remains one of the most haunting mysteries of the country’s 13-year civil war. On Dec. 9, 2013, gunmen stormed the Violation Documentation Center in Douma, northeast of Damascus, and took Razan Zaitouneh, her husband Wael Hamadeh, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hammadi.
Outspoken and defiantly secular, Zaitouneh was one of Syria’s most well-known human rights activists. Perhaps most dangerously, she was impartial. She chanted in protests against then-President Bashar Assad but was also unflinching in documenting abuses by rebels fighting to oust him.”

Christ is Still in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Samud

On December 20th, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) joined Christ at the Checkpoint and a number of co-sponsoring organizations for 'Christ is Still in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Sumud' streamed live from Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. The service featured readings and remarks from several Palestinian clergy and figures, including Yousef Khoury, Rev. Sally Azar, Rev. Ashraf Tannous, and a sermon from Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac. Rev. Isaac's sermon focused on themes of resilience and steadfastness, and the embodiment of Christ as a symbol of hope in the Advent season and always. More than 500 people joined the service live.

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