![](/05312024bulletin/3ab911b7-1ba1-49f5-8d03-459ce546a6b6.png) | ![](/05312024bulletin/5ccdff81-319b-4dfb-bc5d-eab41dc4fc8a.png) | May 31st News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | ![](/05312024bulletin/ed2334fe-778c-4593-8bbf-55668b65d680.jpg) | Image: Fire rages following an Israeli strike in an area designated for displaced Palestinians in Rafah on May 26, 2024. (Reuters TV/Reuters) | | | | US-made munitions used in deadly strike on Rafah tent camp, CNN analysis shows CNN “Munitions made in the United States were used in the deadly Israeli strike on a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday, a CNN analysis of video from the scene and a review by explosive weapons experts has found. At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 others injured after a fire broke out following the Israeli military’s strike on the outskirts of Gaza’s southernmost city, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics.” | | | | | | | ![](/05312024bulletin/78619a8e-5086-46c4-8347-b27ecfc1c388.jpg) | Image: Capitol Police arrest demonstrators with Christians for a Free Palestine for protesting inside a U.S. Senate cafeteria for a ceasefire and aid for Gaza, Washington, D.C., on April 9. (Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty) | | | Conservative Christians are lending support — and cash — to Israel at war NPR "There are also a number of Christian organizations that are taking a different approach to Israel's war in Gaza and are, instead, speaking out against the war and the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza. Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon leads one of those groups. She is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, a broad coalition of American Christian denominations and organizations that has actively been calling for the end of Israel's military actions in Gaza.” | | | | | At ‘Christ at the Checkpoint,’ Palestinian Christians rail against Western church’s response to war Religion News Service “The divide that has opened during the Israel-Hamas war between Christians in the Holy Land and Christians in the West was a prominent theme at Christ at the Checkpoint, held May 22-26 this year under the banner ‘Do Justice, Love Mercy.’" CMEP was honored to be present at Christ at the Checkpoint. Rev. Dr. Cannon spoke alongside Rev. Dr. Jack Sara at Friday's session. Watch here. | | | | | | ![](/05312024bulletin/c0d05702-e115-4d04-ac74-57b540edd965.jpg) | Join a group of Churches for Middle East Peace's Regional Coordinators as they venture to Israel/Palestine in November 2024. This trip will highlight the spiritual significance of the Holy Land, the role local Christians play in the landscape of the region, meetings with religious and non-profit leaders in the region, and in-depth analysis and engagement with the current realities on the ground. This trip also includes attending CMEP's And Still We Rise Summit in Jericho. Join us this November 9-18th, 2024. Registration Extended! | | | For more information or questions about this trip, please email ana@cmep.org. | | | ![](/05312024bulletin/f8ed8e17-73c4-489e-81d1-ecbd4beb553e.png) | Join in community weekly: We have continued to join in community every Wednesday and Thursday since October 7th. Wednesdays from 12:30 - 1:00 pm EST, CMEP invites you to pray for peace in light of recent events in Gaza, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories. Join Thursdays from 10 - 10:30 am EST for a briefing on current news on the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Register Now. | | | | | | | Prayers4Peace: From the Student Encampments Written by a recent graduate in the DC area (who chose to remain anonymous) “The students at the encampment have made the decision that they are willing to sacrifice something for peace — not for themselves, but for people thousands of miles away, whom they will likely never meet. Those who show up to the rallies, who commit to bringing water, food, and sanitary products, who stay overnight in tents, and who serve as police liaisons and marshalls to ensure things run safely have come to terms with the fact that their advocacy comes with a cost.” | | | | | The undersigned NGOs urgently call on all permanent and elected members of the UN Security Council to enforce the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) orders regarding Israel's actions in Rafah, Gaza. Immediate action is required to uphold international law and ensure the Government of Israel meets its obligations as mandated by the ICJ. | | | | | From the Fires of Pentecost to a Ceasefire in Gaza Last Saturday, CMEP was Live from Jerusalem with a pilgrimage and prayer vigil called “From the Fires of Pentecost to a Ceasefire in Gaza”. Watch the service, streamed from the Old City of Jerusalem, as we pray, sing, and cry out for an end to all violence. Then, we encourage you to engage your community in a local pilgrimage for Phase 2 of Gaze Ceasefire Pilgrimages. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | |