| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Recent Israeli Elections Detrimental to Peace A look at school closures, hope for Yemen, and more news in this week’s bulletin. CMEP’s Bulletin is a weekly round-up of news from the Middle East and represents an array of perspectives on the issues we cover. CMEP does not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the articles, and they do not speak on CMEP’s behalf. | | | |  | Image: The Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. (Raimond Klavins on Unsplash) | | | Recent Israeli elections detrimental to peace The Christian Citizen “Prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians have been moving in the wrong direction over the past decades. The most recent Israeli elections are detrimental to peace and could be moving Israel to increased civil discord — some even say a civil war. The elections could also lead to another outbreak in the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab wars that have been happening since 1948 at the establishment of the State of Israel and what is known as the Nakba (catastrophe) for Palestinians.” | | | | | |  | Image: Sign in image reads: We do not suffer from a shortage of money, but from an increase in thieves. | | | Lebanon's empty schools bode long-term damage from crisis ABC News “Lebanon’s schools are crumbling under the weight of the country’s economic collapse as the political leadership — which caused the crisis through decades of corruption and mismanagement — balks at taking any measures to resolve it. Since the meltdown began in late 2019, over three-quarters of Lebanon’s 6 million people have been plunged into poverty, their assets evaporating as the currency's value shrivels and inflation rises at one of the world’s highest rates.” | | | | | |  | Image: Still image from Al-Jazeera video shows Palestinians carrying one of those killed in the raid. | | | Israeli forces kill four Palestinians in latest Jenin raid Al-Jazeera "An Israeli army raid has killed at least four Palestinians, including a teenager, in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian officials say. Thursday’s (March 16) raid – the latest since Israel intensified such operations in the West Bank last year – was carried out by undercover Israeli forces 'who broke into downtown Jenin', the Palestinian state news agency Wafa quoted the Ministry of Health as saying.” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | CMEP Webinar: Healthcare in Gaza. In this February 2023 webinar we posed one question—what is it like to offer healing in times of destruction? Panelists provided snapshots of their experiences historically, organizationally, and personally. | | | | |  | Non-Violent Peacebuilding: Join Westminster Presbyterian Church (Delaware) and Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) on March 19th for a conversation about non-violent peacebuilding and advocacy related to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. You will hear from Michael Feigenbaum and Ismail Assad from Combatants for Peace about how they were compelled to break cycles of violence in Israeli and Palestinian society and work for collective peace and justice. Kyle Cristafalo from Churches for Middle East Peace will speak about the role the American church plays in advocating for a just peace in Israel/Palestine. | | | | |  | Join Churches for Middle East Peace on March 22 for a conversation with Hassan El-Tayyab, Legislative Director for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. This webinar will provide an overview of the best tools for engaging in virtual and in-person Congressional advocacy related to Israel/Palestine. It will also highlight relevant legislative advocacy priorities on Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. | | | | |  | Register Now! Join Churches for Middle East Peace for our first in person Advocacy Summit since 2019. On April 20 we will hear from keynote speakers and panelists from Israel/Palestine and the U.S. including Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, and Rev. Dr. Jack Sara. Participants will have the opportunity to take the stories they have heard and advocate on behalf of human rights in Israel and Palestine with their Congressional offices on Friday, April 21. We hope you will consider joining us for fellowship, learning, and the chance to raise your voice on Capitol Hill this April. Registration is now open! | | | | | | | | | | Support CMEP: Spring reminds us of the hope for peace that we work for every day. Please donate today to support CMEP's efforts. | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Members of the United Nations Security Council in New York, U.S., September 30, 2022. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly) | | | UN sees renewed momentum toward Yemen peace spurred by Saudi, Iran deal
Reuters “The United Nations Yemen mediator urged warring parties on Wednesday (March 15) to ‘seize the opportunity’ to take decisive steps toward peace and said momentum to end the conflict had been renewed by a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume ties. ‘Intense diplomatic efforts are ongoing at different levels to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end,’ U.N. special envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council. ‘We are currently witnessing renewed regional diplomatic momentum, as well as a step change in the scope and depth of the discussions.’” | | | | | |  | Image: Ammar Demandi, who was injured during clashes with Jewish settlers, stands in a burned living room in Huwara in the West Bank on Feb. 27. (Kobi Wolf for The Washington Post) | | | A timeline of recent escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians Washington Post “In the occupied West Bank, daily Israeli incursions have become the norm, some leading to deadly gun battles. One-hundred and forty-six Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2022, the deadliest year since the United Nations began recording fatalities in 2005. This year is on track to be even more deadly, with at least 60 Palestinians killed in less than two months — as Israel’s new far-right government, which came into power in January, has intensified operations against Palestinian militants. As the raids have increased, so have Palestinian attacks on Israelis, which have killed at least 11 people over the same period.” | | | | | |  | Image: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes opening remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, March 12, 2023. (Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via Reuters) | | | No White House visit for Israel's Netanyahu as US concern rises
Reuters “Eleven weeks into his third stint as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be received at the White House, signaling apparent U.S. unhappiness over the policies of his right-wing government. Most new Israeli leaders had visited the United States or met the president by this point in their premierships, according to a Reuters review of official visits going back to the late 1970s. Only two out of 13 previous prime ministers heading a new government waited longer.” | | | | | | | | | | | | CMEP's Bulletin is a weekly round-up of news from the Middle East and represents an array of perspectives on the issues we cover. CMEP does not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the articles, and they do not speak on CMEP's behalf. | | | | Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
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