 |  | February 23rd Update Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | | |  | Image: Christian activists demonstrate for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war after an Ash Wednesday Mass near the White House in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. (RNS photo/Aleja Hertzler-McCain) | | | Lenten cease-fire campaign includes Ash Wednesday Mass outside White House Religious News Service Featuring CMEP Catholic Advisory Council members Susan Gunn (also Board Member for Maryknoll) and Jordan Denari Duffner, and Russ Testa (Fransican board member and chair) “'About 100 Christian protesters from several denominations praying for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza gathered outside the White House on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14) for a Catholic Mass and ecumenical Christian witness... Jordan Denari Duffner, a member of the Catholic Advisory Council for Churches for Middle East Peace, told Religion News Service that her group hoped the Catholic Mass would reach President Biden, who has been “so committed to and public about” his faith. | | | | | | | |  | Image: CMEP group meeting at the State Department, February 13, 2024. All photos courtesy of Catherine Gordon. | | | Calling for a stop to the destruction of Gaza Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) "Last week, the Rev. Bronwen Boswell, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, joined other church heads of communion in the nation’s capital to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The leaders also pressed U.S. government officials to renew funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and to work for the release of all hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel." | | | | | | | |  | New ASWR Podcast Episode, out last Sunday: Reflecting on the current effects and history of colonization, guests Lisa Sharon Harper and Joyce Ajlouny emphasize how people with a shared struggle can stand together in solidarity against current injustices across the world. In particular, they discuss parallels between the occupation of Palestine and the movement for Black lives in the US. This episode was recorded on January 17, 2024. You can listen to the podcast on YouTube or Spotify. | | | | |  | Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage is a network of autonomous Christian groups with shared convictions who are engaging in a prayerful show of solidarity in cities around the world, where people during Lent will walk the length of the Gaza Strip. Pilgrimages are taking place throughout Lent. As Christians enter into the season of Lent, before the celebration of Easter, we are inviting anyone who wants to be involved in this prayerful, nonviolent pilgrimage that will be the length of Gaza – 41km, or 25 miles. For more about the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages and how you can participate, see our website. | | | | | | |  | Join Us in Washington, DC as we mark Four Decades of Pursuing Peace at our annual Advocacy Summit from April 9-11, 2024. Spend time looking back at CMEP's 40-year history and learn more about how CMEP will continue pursuing peace and justice for all in the Middle East. You will also have a chance to meet directly with your Congressional offices. Learn more and register now. | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
(Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/Getty Images) | | | Bibi agrees to send Israeli negotiators for hostage talks after U.S. pressure Axios “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Thursday (Feb 22) to send Israeli negotiators to Paris on Friday for talks with CIA director Bill Burns, the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian spy chief on a new hostage deal, an Israeli official and a source with direct knowledge told Axios." | | | | | | | |  | Image: Rafah is sheltering more than a million people who have been forced to flee other parts of the Gaza Strip. (Getty Images) | | | US vetoes call for immediate Gaza ceasefire at UN BBC “The US has vetoed a resolution at the UN demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after proposing its own draft urging a temporary ceasefire. Washington said the Algerian-proposed resolution would ‘jeopardise’ talks to end the war… In its own resolution the US warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah. The US has previously avoided the word ‘ceasefire’ during UN votes on the war, but President Joe Biden has recently made similar comments.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: International aid agencies say Gaza is suffering from shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies as a result of Israel's war on the territory
(Fatima Shbair/AP) | | | WFP halts food deliveries to north Gaza amid ‘complete chaos, violence’ Al Jazeera “The United Nations food agency has paused delivering aid to northern Gaza, citing Israeli gunfire as well as ‘complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order’ in the area. The latest suspension on Tuesday (Feb 20) increases fears of starvation in northern Gaza, which has been almost completely cut off from aid since late October amid Israel’s devastating war on the enclave.” | | | | | | Special Briefing: Glimmers of Hope in the Middle East Bridget Moix (General Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation) and Hassan El-Tayyab (CMEP Board Representative for Friends Committee on National Legislation) hosted this special webinar on Thursday, Feb. 15. As part of the CMEP Executive Leader Delegation, they recently visited Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, and Jordan. As they journeyed, the Israel-Palestine war raged on, spilling into other parts of the region; In their mission for peace, the faith leaders talked to heads of religious communities, royalty, government officials, peacebuilders, children, and ordinary people. Watch their brief on their time in the Middle East, and hear of their experiences now. | | | |  | CMEP presents this year’s Lenten devotional series entitled “"Faithful Resilience: A Lenten Sojourn for Peace.” This devotional contains devotions written by pastors, clergy, and church leaders from across the US for every Sunday leading up to Lent, alongside each holy day of the Lenten season. You can read the series as it is released by watching our Prayers4Peace blog, or signing up to receive the devotionals in your inbox. Read the devotional from last Sunday, written by Rev. Amy Winkle, “A Lenten Invitation”. Read here. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | |
