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CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Egypt President Pardons Rights Activist Patrick Zaki and Lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer A look at new visa waiver program, embassy storming, 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: Patrick Zaki in December 2021, when he was released after 22 months in pre-trial detention. (AFP) | | | Egypt president pardons rights activist Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer BBC “Egypt's president has pardoned jailed rights activist Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer, state media report. The news comes a day after an emergency court found Mr Zaki guilty of ‘spreading false news’ and sentenced him to three years in prison. The judgement, based on an article he wrote about his life as a Coptic Christian, was widely condemned. Mr Baqer represented pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah before they were jailed on the same charge in 2021.” | | | | | |
 | Image: Israeli forces conduct a training drill near Masafer Yatta in February 2021. (Keren Manor / Activestills.org) | | | The Destruction of This Palestinian Community Was Green-Lighted by Israel’s Supreme Court The Nation “So’ed stopped attending class after Israeli bulldozers crushed the village school. That day, So’ed told us, she helped young children, the students of lower grades, to escape through the windows. ‘We were in English class,’ she said. ‘I saw a Jeep approaching through the window. The teacher stopped the class. Soldiers arrived with two bulldozers. They closed the doors on us. We were stuck in the classrooms. Then we escaped through the windows. And they destroyed the school.’” | | | | | |
 | Image: Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrives to speak to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday morning at the Capitol in Washington, as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., look on. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) | | | Israeli president focuses on 'friendship' with U.S. as progressives boycott speech NPR “Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasized the ‘true friendship’ and ‘mutually beneficial partnership’ between Israel and the U.S. during a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday (July 19) morning, an event boycotted by a handful of progressive House Democrats concerned about the treatment of Palestinians.” | | | | | | | | | |
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 | Join us next Monday, July 24th at 2:30 pm (EST) for a conversation featuring Archimandrite Abuna Emanuel Youkhana from Iraq. Churches for Middle East Peace and Embrace the Middle East are co-hosting this summer series in conversation with Christians across the Middle East. In the coming weeks, Rev. Colin Chapman will speak with Christian leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, 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. | | | | |  | Armenia at War: the Survival of the Church in the Oldest Christian State Join us beginning September 20th for this mini-course about Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This three-week course will address several issues. The first week will focus on the sustainability of the church in the oldest Christian state, the history of the Armenian genocide, and the ongoing struggle to protect the Christian heritage and presence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ancient Armenia. The second week will discuss the political dynamics in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The third session will be a prayer gathering, including Christian ministries in Armenia, and the opportunity to pray together for an end to the ongoing war and the sustainability of the church in the region. | | | | |  | 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. | | | | | |
| | | | | | Support CMEP: Consider making a gift in honor of CMEPs former Executive Director Warren Clark through your support of the Ambassador Warren Clark Fellowship (AWCF). This Fellowship supports young scholars work and research towards a more peaceful future. | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | Image: Protesters climb a fence near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20, 2023. (Ahmed Saad/Reuters) | | | Iraqi protesters storm Swedish embassy in Baghdad over Quran burning
CNN “Hundreds of protesters stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad early Thursday (July 20) in response to police in Stockholm granting permission for a demonstration were organizers are reportedly planning another burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.” | | | | | |
 | Image: Palestinians at the Erez crossing with Israel near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on August 27, 2018. (AFP/Mahmud Hams) | | | Despite US pledge of equal treatment, Gazan Americans left out of Visa Waiver Program Times of Israel “The US and Israel announced on Wednesday (July 19) that they had reached an agreement for Jerusalem to ease travel restrictions for Palestinian-Americans, paving the way for Israel’s entry into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), but the text of the deal obtained by The Times of Israel revealed that US citizens in Gaza will not be granted the significant benefits that their American peers living in the West Bank and around the world will be able to enjoy.” | | | | | |
 | Image: Bader al-Masri, 19, succumbed to his wounds after being shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on 20 July 2023 (Screengrab) | | | Israeli forces kill Palestinian after settler tomb incursion in Nablus Middle East Eye "Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian and wounded three others in Nablus on Thursday (July 20) morning, shortly after settlers stormed Joseph's Tomb in the occupied West Bank city. ‘A citizen was killed by the [Israeli] occupation bullets in Nablus,’ the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement, adding that three others were taken to hospital after being wounded by live bullets. Two of those wounded were in a critical condition, according to Wafa news agency” | | | | | | | |
| | 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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(202) 543-1222 | info@cmep.org | | Please note our offices have changed locations to 110 Maryland Ave NE #505 | | | | | |
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