 |  | May 2nd News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | Israel boycotts hearing at UN’s top court on banning of aid agency for Palestinians CNN “Israel on Monday boycotted a hearing at the United Nations’ top court on its decision to ban a UN aid agency that has served millions of Palestinians since it was established in 1949. The hearings will look at Israel’s obligations, both as a member of the United Nations and as an occupying power, toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The aid agency provides education, healthcare and social services to nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.” | | | | | | | | Israel says it struck gunmen attacking Druze in Syria after deadly clashes BBC "Israel's military chief has said it struck "operatives" who attacked civilians from the Druze community on the outskirts of Damascus, after an outbreak of sectarian violence that has reportedly killed more than 40 people. Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said he had instructed Israeli forces to prepare to strike Syrian government targets if such attacks on the religious minority continued. A BBC team witnessed air strikes around the mainly Druze town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and neighbouring Sahnaya, and heard the sound of sporadic but heavy gunfire.” | | | | | | | | Suspected US airstrike hits Yemen migrant centre, Houthi TV says 68 killed Reuters “Corpses covered in dust and debris were scattered in the wreckage of a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen, after what Houthi-controlled television described on Monday as a U.S. airstrike that killed 68 people. The attack was one of the deadliest so far in six weeks of intensified U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis, an Iran-aligned group that controls northern Yemen and has struck shipping in the Red Sea in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians.” | | | | | | | | Israel bombs Beirut; President Aoun calls for international pressure Al-Jazeera "Israel has struck Beirut’s southern suburbs after issuing an evacuation warning, the third Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire took effect in late November. A huge plume of smoke rose over the area after the strike on Sunday. There was no immediate word on casualties." | | | | | | | | | | April 30 2025: CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon Spends Holy Week in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories CMEP’s executive director traveled to the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem for Holy Week from April 11 to 20, after leading a multi-faith delegation in Jordan and Egypt. Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), visited numerous local church leaders to stand in solidarity with the Christian community in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel during Holy Week. Her visits included high-level meetings with Christian, Muslim, and Jewish community leaders and focused on ending the devastation and destruction in Gaza. | | | | | | | Make your voices heard today by letting your members of Congress you want the U.S. government to prioritize peace and an end to violence over continuing to supply weapons that will cause further death and destruction | | | | | | | | Call to Prayer: Layan Nasir We remember the 10 months Layan spent under Administrative Detention in Israeli prison and pray that on May 18, 2025 her case will be completely resolved and that she will not return to Israeli prison. Join on on Wednesday's for our weekly prayer sessions where we will pray for Layan as well as peace in the Middle East. | | | | | | | | Call to Prayer: Shady Khoury In 2022, Shadi was arrested, beaten, and held in military detention for 44 days. Since his release, Shadi has attended more than thirty court sessions and forced to schedule his life around court dates that could potentially be postponed at the last minute. His last hearing, which took place April 27, 2025, was postponed when a witness, who is a child, failed to appear. The postponement of this hearing prolongs an unjust and psychologically demoralizing process. Shadi's next hearing is scheduled for June 30, 2025. Please join us in praying that ALL charges would be dropped so that Shadi and his family can be free from this burden. | | | | | | | | | | Nakba Remembrance Ceremony May 15th Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is grateful to co-sponsor this year's Nakba Remembrance Ceremony, which will be held on May 15th, 2025, at 1:00 pm EST. The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony is a unique opportunity to commemorate the pain and tragedy of the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), when in 1948 more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, became refugees, and had their villages and cities destroyed. In Israel, even mentioning the Nakba is completely taboo, however, Combatants for Peace believes that peace and reconciliation involve a sincere and honest reckoning with this history that didn’t end in 1948 but continues until this day.
In the aftermath of October 7th, a second Nakba has been unfolding in Gaza, with over 50,000 Palestinians killed. For Palestinians, the violence and mass displacement brings back memories of 1948 but indeed the Nakba never ended, it has continued for the past 76 years. This year, we will center the ceremony around the theme of “Holding onto home, holding onto hope.” Learn more and register. | | | | | | Church at the Crossroads September 11-13 Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and faithful witnesses from across the country for Church at the Crossroads, a national gathering of Christians who recognize that the church stands at a defining moment–Jesus is urgently calling us back to the narrow way of the cross. As violence escalates in Israel and Palestine, and some in the Church use Scripture to justify war, occupation, or silence, we must ask: Have we traded the gospel of peace for the false promises of security and comfort?
Rooted in Scripture and led by Palestinian Christian leaders, including CMEP executive director, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon—alongside pastors and peacemakers from across North America—this conference invites American Christians to engage in honest reckoning, prophetic reflection, and faithful action. Through worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship, we are called to repentance, renewal, and courageous discipleship. This is a space to confront harmful theologies, rediscover the gospel of the Kingdom, and stand with all who seek justice in the land. | | | | | | | | CMEP in the News: Israel snubs Pope’s funeral as church groups back Hague challenge The Tablet "Pax Christi International, the Amos Trust, Sabeel-Kairos UK and Quakers in Britain were among 30 Christian organisations to demand action on the UN General Assembly’s resolution that Israel must end its unlawful presence in Palestine. In an open letter on 22 April, six months after the resolution, they called on global leaders to “uphold their legal and moral responsibilities” and maintain international law, halting arms sales to Israel and trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The letter set out Israel’s breaches of international humanitarian law, including the destruction of Palestinian homes and the systematic expansion of settlements.” | | | | | | 'Unacceptable': France Blasts Israel for Banning French Delegations From Entering Country Haaretz “France's foreign ministry accused Israel's embassy of "unacceptable" behaviour on Tuesday after it banned two French groups, including elected officials, from visiting Israel and alleged the groups were linked to a terrorist organisation." | | | | | | | | American Jewish Committee Leadership Visits the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America "A delegation of 16 leaders from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) visited the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and met with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The AJC leaders are currently in New York for the AJC Global Forum, the organization's largest annual gathering, which includes "Advocacy in Action" opportunities to address issues of mutual concern with senior leaders.” | | | | | | | | Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after judge orders his release from federal custody NBC "Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after a judge ordered his release from federal immigration custody Wednesday, weeks after armed DHS agents detained him in Vermont during his naturalization interview. Mahdawi, a 34-year-old U.S. permanent resident who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was detained April 14 and had been held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, the Northwest State Correctional Facility, in St. Albans, Vermont." | | | | | | | | | | April 27th "Faith, Remembrance, and Resilience: Standing Together for Justice and Peace in Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide." Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) hosted a commemorative event at St. Mary's Armenian Church in Washington, DC on April 27th. The event had an ecumenical service starting at 1pm followed by a children's performance including dance and song. Watch the service and the remarks shared by the ecumenical delegation below! | | | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | |
