 |  | April 17th News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. |
| | 1. U.S. and Iran inch toward framework deal to end war, U.S. officials say Axios "The two adversaries — with the assistance of Pakistani, Egyptian and Turkish mediators — have been trying to bridge remaining gaps and reach a deal before the ceasefire expires on April 21. A Pakistani delegation headed by Army commander Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks with Iranian officials. U.S. officials and sources familiar with the mediation cautioned that a deal is not guaranteed, given the substantial differences between the two sides". |
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| 2. Senate rejects effort to halt arms sales to Israel, but most Democrats vote to block them "More than three dozen Democrats supported an effort by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday to block arms sales to Israel, signaling a growing discontent in the party with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the wars in Gaza and Iran. The two resolutions to block U.S. sales of bulldozers and bombs to Israel were opposed by all Republicans and rejected 40-59 and 36-63. But Sanders has repeatedly forced votes on the issue to put pressure on his colleagues — both Democrats and Republicans — to oppose Netanyahu’s regime". |
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| 3. Hegseth says US is ‘locked and loaded’ to finish job of destroying Iran energy grid The Guardian "Iran’s energy infrastructure is “not destroyed yet” and the US is “locked and loaded” to finish the job, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said on Thursday as he called many of the press corps gathered the moral equivalent of the Pharisees who conspired to destroy Jesus Christ. Hegseth’s comments from the Pentagon podium came as a naval blockade of Iranian ports began this week and he called on Tehran to accept a nuclear deal or face consequences for its remaining infrastructure, power generation and energy industry". |
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| 4. Hospitals overwhelmed and communities destroyed: Lebanon reels from Israel’s unprecedented attacks CNN News "The Israeli government says it is targeting fighters and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant and political group, Hezbollah, which has engaged in decades of conflict with Israel. The aim, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to secure his country’s northern border region. But across Lebanon, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict that flared up again when Hezbollah began firing at Israel at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran". |
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| 5. Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire NBC News "President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had reached a ceasefire deal, which came as fighting raged between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. In a post on Truth Social, he said that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST." |
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| | 6. Israeli forces fire teargas at schoolchildren holding West Bank sit-in The Guardian "Israeli forces have fired teargas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their school. The Israeli military said it had dispersed an “unusual gathering”, but did not specify whether its troops had fired teargas at the children on the first day of class since the start of the Iran war. The incident took place at Umm al-Khair, a small village in the southern West Bank region of Masafer Yatta". |
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| 7. As world focuses on Iran, Israel ‘engineering starvation policy’ in Gaza Al Jazeera "With the global attention fixated on the diplomatic efforts to end the war on Iran, Israel has systematically escalated its attacks on Gaza and choked off vital aid, plunging the besieged enclave into what economic experts are now calling an “engineered, compounded famine". The number of aid trucks entering Gaza has dropped drastically in violation of the October 2025 ceasefire with Hamas. Since then, the Government Media Office in Gaza has recorded 2,400 military violations by Israeli forces, resulting in the killing of more than 700 Palestinians". |
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| 8. US and Hamas hold first direct talks since Gaza truce as ceasefire process stalls CNN News "The US and Hamas held their first direct talks since the Gaza ceasefire as part of efforts to advance the fragile US-brokered agreement, two Hamas sources said. A delegation led by senior US advisor Aryeh Lightstone met chief Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo on Tuesday night, according to the sources. Lightstone was joined by Nickolay Mladenov, the US-backed Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza, officials said. Contacted for comment by CNN, a State Department spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on ongoing negotiations.”. |
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| 9. The only Palestinian children’s rights organization closes following years-long Israeli campaign against it Mondoweiss "Defense for Children International-Palestine(DCI-P) has ended its extraordinary work with the children of Palestine as a result of unending threats from the State of Israel. Despite having been designated by Israel as a terrorist organization in 2023, DCI-P had continued its groundbreaking work of investigating, documenting and exposing human rights violations against Palestinian children as well as providing legal services to children and holding both Israeli and Palestinian authorities accountable to principles of human rights as described in international law". |
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| | 10. Pope doubles down on message of peace and unity as Trump's criticism continues "Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday doubled down as President Donald Trump's criticism showed no sign of letting up, insisting that the message "the world needs to hear today" is one of peace and dialogue. Leo spoke to journalists aboard the papal plane en route to Cameroon as he continued his Africa visit. He made no mention of Trump's latest social media post or the suggestion by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, that he should "be careful" when speaking about theology". |
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| | May 5-7: Joint Christian Advocacy Summit 2026
Location Announced: Shiloh Baptist Church: 1500 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 Join CMEP and a broad coalition of co-sponsors May 5-7, 2026 as we converge in Washington, DC for a Joint Christian Advocacy Summit for the Middle East. Centered on the theme “Do Right; Seek Justice (Is. 1:17): Christians Uniting Against Oppression in Palestine/Israel,” this gathering will equip and mobilize Christian advocates from across the country in support of U.S. policies that uphold dignity, human rights, and lasting security for all who call the region home. Attendees will learn from experts, gain advocacy skills, and have the opportunity to meet with their congressional offices to call for a just peace in the Holy Land. |
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| April 13, 2026: Statement from Churches for Middle Easr Peace on the Interconnectedness of Violence At Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), we recognize that the violence unfolding across the Middle East is not isolated from the rest of the world. The grief, fear, and trauma felt in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and across the region are also experienced by diaspora communities around the globe, including here in the United States. Many Americans have family members, loved ones, and deep ties to the Middle East. As they watch tragedy and destruction unfold from afar, they too suffer. |
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| | April 15, 2026: Persevere Proactively for Peace in the Holy Land In this Prayer4Peace, Jim Morley provides exerpts from his new book "Neighbor Imperative, essays along a hope filled journey". This book shares his experiences in the Holy Land, and the lessons he has learned from years of working towards peace. It encourages seeking a peaceful solution to conflicts he witnessed firsthand, and coming to understand each other as members of the same human family. |
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| | April 15, 2026: Why evangelicals are so slow to recognize Israeli war crimes: An evangelical critique of evangelicals In his article "Why evangelicals are so slow to recognize Israeli war crimes", CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain explains how American evangelicals have too often remained silent in the face of unjust suffering. From the perspective of a practicing evangelical, McClain presents how this evangelical moral framework was developed, and describes how groups with such robust moral convictions have fallen short on the critical issue of condemning Israeli violence. The article encourages more evangelicals to evaluate their stances to awaken themselves to the suffering of all people in the Holy Land.
This article was written by CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain. |
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| Thursday Weekly News Briefing
Please join us on Zoom for a weekly briefing on current news regarding the Hamas and Israel War. Hear from CMEP Staff and other experts and ask questions at the end. Every Thursday from 10:30-11:15 am Eastern. |
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| | Support CMEP’s Work for Peace
If you value the programs and advocacy efforts highlighted in the bulletin, we invite you to partner with us. Your generosity makes it possible for CMEP to continue hosting events, leading education initiatives, and amplifying voices for justice and peace in the Middle East. If you would like to support CMEP in expanding this important work, please consider making a donation today. Thank you for standing with us. |
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| April 15, 22, 29th, 2026: CMEP Catholic Advisory Council Spring Mini-Series The Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is excited to invite you to a special three-part Spring Mini-Course series. This series, hosted weekly April 15, 22, and 29 at 11 ET on Zoom, will explore how Catholic and Christian communities in the Holy Land are responding to the profound challenges of life under occupation and ongoing conflict. Together, we’ll examine key areas of interest to Catholics (and all Christians) in the U.S. and hear from key partners and institutions on the ground in the Holy Land. We look forward to having you join us for these powerful and timely sessions. |
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| | | | April 27, 2026 CMEP Webinar: The Artsakh Blockade: How Nagorno Karabakh lost its 2000-year-old Armernian presence Join us on April 27th at 1PM EST for a Webinar on the 10-month blockade and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabkh, in which over 100,000 Armenians were expelled from their homes. We are joined by Gev Iskajyan, who lived in Nagorno Karabkh during this difficult time and will recount to us his firsthand experience. As we commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th, in which 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives, we are reminded that even now this small Christian nation is under threat. |
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| April 20, 2026: Combatants for Peace and The Parents Circle-Families Forum Joint Memorial Day Ceremony Churches for Middle East Peace is proud to co-sponsor the Joint Memorial Day Ceremony of the Combatants for Peace and The Parents Circle-Families Forum. Seeking to transform sorrow into collective resolve, this event has brought together Israelis and Palestinians for more than two decades. Even after two and a half years of continued suffering and violence, this year's ceremony will demonstrate that even in times of strife, solidarity is not only possible, but imperative. |
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| April 26, 2026: Armenia Solidarity Sunday On April 26th, CMEP invites congregations across the U.S. to join in remembering the lives lost during the Armenian Genocide, when approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed beginning in 1915. This solemn day of remembrance offers an opportunity for the Church to honor those who suffered persecution because of their identity and Christian faith. We encourage you to include a dedicated prayer or moment of silence in your Sunday service, standing in solidarity with their memory and reaffirming our shared commitment to faith, justice, and human dignity. |
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| May 4, 2026: Reshaping Jewish/Christian Engagement: Moving Beyond Dialogue to Collective Action
Join Rabbi Jill Jacobs (Tru’ah) and Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon (Churches for Middle East Peace) at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 PM for a conversation about the landscape and future of Jewish-Christian relations. In a time when the world is deeply divided, these two faith leaders will come together to model what honest, courageous, and compassionate interfaith conversation can look like.
Their dialogue will explore how Jewish and Christian communities have sometimes misunderstood or even harmed one another, and how we might move toward deeper understanding, trust, and solidarity. Drawing from their experiences leading faith-based advocacy, they will reflect on how communities of faith can navigate the complex intersections of religion, politics, and justice in the Middle East, while remaining committed to our shared values of human dignity and peace. This event is an opportunity not only to witness meaningful interfaith engagement but also to imagine new ways forward—together. |
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| | | Contact Us Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 505
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222 [email protected] |
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