| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: U.S. Calls on Israel to Not Crack Down on Anti-Government Protesters A look at the crisis in Lebanon, important UN happenings, 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: Israeli security forces block anti-government demonstrators during a rally at the Ben Gurion Airport on July 11. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP, Getty Images) | | | U.S. calls on Israel to not crack down on anti-government protesters Axios “The White House called on the Israeli government ‘to protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly’ after Israeli police made dozens of arrests and used force against protesters who rallied across the country against the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul.” | | | | | |  | Image: Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on July 3, 2023 (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters) | | | UN chief refuses to retract condemnation of Israel’s Jenin raid Al Jazeera “Guterres (UN Secretary-General), angered by Israeli air attacks on Jenin and the danger posed to the civilian population, issued a statement on Thursday (July 6) in which he said the assault had left over 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged schools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks. ‘Israel’s air strikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp were the worst violence in the West Bank in many years, with a significant impact on civilians,’ Guterres said.” | | | | | |  | Image: Eyad al-Hallaq (CNN) | | | Israeli Border Police officer acquitted of charges in the fatal shooting of autistic Palestinian man CNN “A Jerusalem court acquitted an Israeli border police officer of “involuntary reckless manslaughter” in the fatal shooting of Eyad al-Hallaq, an unarmed Palestinian man. The unnamed police officer was charged in the fatal shooting of al-Hallaq that took place on May 30, 2020 in Jerusalem’s old city, according to Jerusalem District Court documents viewed by CNN.” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Action Alert: HR 3103 The Palestinian Children and Families Act. With the rise of violence in the West Bank growing by the day under the new Israeli government, it is critical members of Congress join Rep. McCollum and sponsor HR 3103. Congress must ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to violate Palestinian human rights and further annex Palestinian land in the West Bank. Such actions–which only exacerbate the conflict–should not be funded with assistance from the U.S. government. | | | | |  | Join us next Monday, July 17th at 2:30 pm (EST) for our first conversation featuring Christian leaders from Israel/Palestine. Churches for Middle East Peace and Embrace the Middle East will begin our four-week online series in conversation with Christians across the Middle East. Rev. Colin Chapman will speak with Christian leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Egypt to discuss the intersection between political context and personal faith. Delve into these rich conversations with us on Mondays in July and August, starting July 17th. | | | | |  | Save the Date! Churches for Middle East Peace is honored to announce a 2024 Summit in Jericho. This event, a part of our And Still We Rise (ASWR) initiative, is open to Christians from the Middle East, the United States, and the international community. Participants are invited to come together for this summit elevating the voices of women committed to pursuing peace. This three day event includes portions open to women only as well as portions open to everyone. In addition, there will be several tours traveling to the region that will include the summit as a part of their itinerary. If you are interested in leading a group tour to the Holy Land in November 2024, please reach out to info@cmep.org. Registration and more details will be available at a later date. | | | | | | | | | | | | Support CMEP: Monthly sustaining donations are vital to our work. Please become a monthly donor by selecting that option in the donate link. | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Trucks loaded with UN humanitarian aid for Syria wait parked at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey, on 10 February 2023. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP) | | | Cross-border aid to Syria blocked in ‘act of utter cruelty’ by Russia at UN vote The Guardian “Russia has been accused of ‘an act of utter cruelty’ after it used its veto at the UN security council to block a nine-month renewal of cross-border aid designed to help 4 million people living in rebel-held north-west Syria… ‘It’s a sad moment for the Syrian people,’ the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council after Russia’s veto. ‘What we have just witnessed, what the world has just witnessed, was an act of utter cruelty.’” | | | | | |  | Image: An Orthodox Jewish man walks near the entrance to the Upper Room on Mt. Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem June 18, 2023. (OSV News photo/Debbie Hill) | | | Anti-Christian incidents are on the rise in Jerusalem’s Old City
America Magazine “‘This is a dramatic change,’ Father Schnabel said. ‘It is much worse than 20 years ago when I entered monastic life, when a spitting incident happened once every six months. Now it has become a daily thing. I am spit on every day. It is not a question of if, but of when.’” | | | | | |  | Image: Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters//Mohamed Azakir) | | | Lebanon PM will not extend central bank governor's mandate Reuters “Lebanon's caretaker premier, Najib Mikati, will not extend the term of central bank Governor Riad Salameh when it ends later this month, the prime minister's office said on Monday (July 10). The July 31 expiration of Salameh's term will bring to an end a 30-year tenure stained by recent charges at home and abroad of embezzlement of Lebanese public funds. Salameh denies the charges.” | | | | | |  | Image: Pope Francis prays in front of new Cardinals during consistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.
| | | Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including prelates based in Hong Kong and Jerusalem AP News “The new cardinals also include Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Sau-yan Chow, 64, and the Vatican’s top official in the Middle East, Monsignor Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 58, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Those two churchmen guide flocks in geopolitical areas of keen concern to the Vatican. On Sunday (June 9), in remarks preceding his reading out of the list of new cardinals, Pope Francis expressed hope that Israeli and Palestinian authorities would take up ‘direct dialogue’ to end the ‘spiral of violence’ — a reference to recent deadly clashes.” | | | | | | | | | | 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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