 |  | March 8th Update Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | | |  | Image: A woman holds a baby, as displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 6, 2024. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa) | | | ‘Gaza is the Most Dangerous Place in the World to Give Birth’ Sojourners “Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, worries that Israel’s offensive all but guarantees violence will last into future generations. ‘This issue has to be resolved in this moment for the sake of Palestinians, and also for future Israelis,’ she told Sojourners. The great irony of oppression is that it rarely if ever ends in peace for the oppressor, said Cannon. Efforts to stamp out an entire culture are impossible in a globalized age, and in trying, Cannon believes that Israel is handing a future of violence to its own children as well.” | | | | | |  | Image: A Palestinian child suffering from malnutrition receives treatment at a healthcare center in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on March 4. Children and mothers are among those most at risk of severe malnutrition. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters) | | | Newborns die of hunger and mothers struggle to feed their children as Israel’s siege condemns Gazans to starvation CNN “As Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip drain essential supplies, displaced Palestinians told CNN they are struggling to feed their children. Starving mothers are unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed their babies, doctors say. Parents arrive at overwhelmed health facilities begging for infant formula. In northern Gaza, people rush to grab aid from infrequent humanitarian drops. Health workers say they cannot offer life-saving treatment to malnourished Gazans because Israel’s bombardment and siege has crushed the medical system.” | | | | | |  | Image: A Palestinian boy stands by the bodies of relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah Feb. 24. (AP/Adel Hana) | | | It is time for US Catholics to take significant risks for Gaza National Catholic Reporter “Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem has been constantly crying out for a cease-fire, as have Pope Francis and Palestinian Christians, and even more recently the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico." | | | | | | | |  | “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 went live on Sunday, March 3rd. You can listen to the podcast on YouTube or Spotify. | | | | |  | | | Let's gather together to commemorate our collective efforts in fostering understanding, dialogue, and reconciliation in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Your sponsorship will help fund vital programs and initiatives that promote peace and justice in the region. To reserve your seat or sponsor a table, you can register now. Your contribution will make a meaningful difference and be deeply appreciated. Not able to attend? Consider generously sponsoring seats/tables for those with a financial need. | | | | | | |  | Equip yourself to better advocate for peace in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh with new resources. Our new info pages offer insight into the pressing issues affecting these regions. Just as Churches for Middle East Peace encourages advocacy for just policies, we invite you to explore and understand the complexities of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Together, we can promote holistic peacebuilding efforts, humanitarian aid, and human rights. Check out our new pages to empower and educate your advocacy. | | | | | | | |  | Image: Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., speaks in Bear, Del., Nov. 6, 2023.
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) | | | Biden’s closest allies are stepping up pressure on White House to do more to ease suffering in Gaza AP News “More of President Joe Biden’s top Senate allies are demanding that the U.S. act directly to ease Palestinian civilian suffering in Gaza and are joining calls to cut military aid if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to change course. What had been dissent from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and a small group of progressive Democrats has swelled in response to the soaring death toll in Gaza. Now even Biden’s closest confidant in Congress, Chris Coons, says it is time to get tougher with Netanyahu’s government on how it conducts the war." | | | | | | | Tent of Nations, an international peace center located in the West Bank on the Nassar family farm, is requesting volunteers and pilgrimage groups to be present with them at the farm during the upcoming months. This is a time of great uncertainty in Palestine, and additional steps are being taken to isolate the farm and restrict access to it. The “solidarity of presence” is being requested and provides some level of protection. If you are organizing a group to travel to the Holy Land, or will participate in a group, please see that Tent of Nations is part of the itinerary. If you wish to volunteer at the farm, visit Tent of Nations website, review the information on volunteering, and complete and submit the contact form. | | | | | | Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages: During Lent, join CMEP and Christians around the world walking 22 miles, the distance from Gaza City to Rafah, as a symbol of solidarity with the people of Gaza. Pilgrimages are being organized in cities all over the world. Learn more or host a Pilgrimage! Churches for Middle East Peace will be hosting our own Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage in Washington D.C. on Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 Other CMEP-Affiliated Marches: | | | | At White House Meeting on Gaza, Vicar General Represents Archdiocese Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America "At the invitation of the Biden Administration, and with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Saba, Archpriest Thomas Zain, the Archdiocese's Vicar General and chairman of the Dept. of Inter-Orthodox and Inter-faith Relations, joined Christian leaders at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House to plead for an end to the war in Gaza." | | | | | | | |  | CMEP presents this year’s Lenten devotional series entitled “"Faithful Resilience: A Lenten Sojourn for Peace.” Read the devotional from last Sunday, written by Rev. Rich Leatherberry, “Costly Love and Hard Places.” 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 | | | | | | | |
