 |  | March 1st Update Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | Breaking: March 1st Statement: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Joins the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem in Condemning Events Yesterday That Caused the Deaths of Civilians in Gaza Seeking Aid. Read now. | | | | | |  | Image: Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia said it had received dead and wounded from western Gaza City (AFP) | | | Israel-Gaza war: More than 100 reported killed in crowd near Gaza aid convoy BBC “At least 112 Palestinians are said to have been killed and 760 injured trying to get desperately needed aid in Gaza. Crowds descended on a convoy of lorries on the coastal road south-west of Gaza City, in the presence of Israeli tanks. Israel's military say tanks fired warning shots but did not strike the lorries, adding many of the dead were trampled or run over. Hamas rejected Israel's account, saying there was ‘undeniable’ evidence of ‘direct firing at citizens’.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: Palestinians wait for humanitarian aid on a beachfront in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa) | | | A quarter of Gaza’s population is one step from famine and aid trucks are looted, UN says AP News “At least one quarter of Gaza’s population – 576,000 people – are one step away from famine and virtually the entire population desperately needs food resulting in some aid trucks being shot at, looted and overwhelmed by hungry people, top U.N. officials said Tuesday (Feb 26). The officials from the U.N. humanitarian office and the U.N.’s food and agriculture organizations painted a dire picture of all 2.3 million people in Gaza facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, and civil order breaking down especially in the north where food and other humanitarian supplies are scarce.” | | | | | | | |  | IImage: Fatah and Hamas officials wait for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and representatives of Palestinian groups and movements as a part of an intra-Palestinian talks in Moscow on February 12, 2019 (Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters) | | | Palestinian unity on agenda as Hamas, Fatah leaders meet in Moscow Al-Jazeera “Representatives from Palestinian political factions, including Hamas and Fatah, are meeting in the Russian capital, Moscow, to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government amid Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 people…. The meeting comes days after Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the resignation of his government, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank." | | | | | | | |  | You are invited to dinner on the first night of the 2024 Advocacy Summit (April 9, 2024), marking Four Decades of Pursuing Peace. Reserve your seat or sponsor a table for an evening of hearing from leaders who have been actively engaged in peacemaking efforts, sharing their perspectives, prayers, hopes, and blessings for the future work of CMEP and the people of the Middle East. Join us in Washington, D.C., for this year's Advocacy Summit, and start the event off with an inspiring and meaningful night of conversation. | | | | |  | “And Still We Rise: Uniting Women for Change” Episode 5: This episode brings together guests Her Excellency Ambassador Hind Khoury and Pastor Neely McQueen to shed light on the topics of multi-level peacebuilding, youth empowerment, and the importance of engaging in the work of justice from within our communities to the realm of international affairs. This episode was recorded on January 25, 2024 and will go live this Sunday, March 3rd. 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 across the US throughout Lent (find a pilgrimage near you!). We are encouraging people to find a date within Lent that works for them to host a pilgrimage As Christians commemorate the season of Lent, 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. | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Still of US airman Aaron Bushnell from CNN. | | | US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in Washington CNN “An active-duty member of the US Air Force who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, on Sunday, has died, authorities said. Aaron Bushnell, 25, said in a video of the incident obtained by CNN that he would ‘no longer be complicit in genocide’ and that his suffering was minimal compared to that of Palestinians as the humanitarian crisis persists in Gaza." | | | | | | February 23, 2024: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Calls on US Government to Hold Israel Accountable to US Laws and for the Deaths of American Citizens "We mourn the staggering loss of life that we continue to witness. We fervently pray and work for an end to the assault on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. We call upon the US government to cease sending additional military to Israel, to support and press for an immediate ceasefire, to ensure the provision and delivery of necessary humanitarian aid, to work for a just and lasting peace that ensures the rights of all involved, and to hold Israel accountable to US laws and for the deaths of American citizens." | | | | | | Gaza cease-fire walk held in Scranton ABC News 16 WNEP “People in Scranton are making their voices heard, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. ‘We're trying to show the people we are here. We are behind them. They cannot talk, but we are their voice,’ said Ferouk Abedrabbo, Islamic Association of Scranton President... It's part of a national Gaza ceasefire pilgrimage spearheaded by various Christian groups. People of all faiths were welcome. 'We're not against anybody. We're in solidarity with both people, but we see the particular vulnerability with Gazans right now who are now nearing 30,000 dead and ongoing devastation in that area,' said Will Cohen, University of Scranton Professor of Theology." | | | | | |  | 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. Marian Boyle Rohloff, “Following Jesus, Together.” 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 | | | | | | | |
