 |  | August 8th News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | 1. Nearly 12,000 children under five in Gaza have acute malnutrition, says WHO Reuters "Around 12,000 children aged under five in Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition, and hunger-related deaths are rising, the Director General of the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
'In July, nearly 12,000 children under five years were identified as having acute malnutrition in Gaza, the highest monthly figure ever recorded,' Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at his organisation's headquarters in Geneva." | | | | | | 2. Israel's Netanyahu expected to push for plan to 'occupy' Gaza NBC News "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to push to 'occupy all of the Gaza Strip' as ceasefire talks with Hamas founder and the hunger crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave spirals. A bid by Netanyahu to occupy all of Gaza would follow similar calls from members of his far-right government upon whom his fragile coalition relies, and could mark a significant shift in policy since Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005." | | | | | | 3. J Street head says he’s now convinced Israel committing genocide in Gaza The Times of Israel "Days after rejecting the claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Zionist advocacy and lobby group J Street, has said he has been 'persuaded' that he was wrong. Ben-Ami’s about-face makes him the latest in a growing list of prominent left-wing Jewish US voices to lodge the accusation, which Israel denies and which US President Donald Trump rejected on Sunday.” | | | | | | 4. Speaker Johnson visits Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank Axios "House Speaker Mike Johnson visited a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Monday as part of a private visit to Israel organized by a pro-Israel advocacy group, according to two Israeli officials." | | | | | | | | July 10, 2025: ACTION ALERT "Block the Bombs Act" On May 21st, 2025, House Resolution 3565 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives, also known as the "Block the Bombs Act." The resolution calls for a limit on the sale of bombs, ammunition (including white phosphorus), and ammunition manufacturing capability. The act comes as Israel has strengthened its assault on Gaza and the West Bank, with an estimated death toll since October 7th, 2023 standing at 54,000 Palestinian men, women, and children. Congress needs to pressure the Trump Administration to protect Palestinian civilians through the passage of HRes. 3565. Your voice can push your representative to support this vital resolution and limit offensive weapon capabilities of Israel, protecting Gazan civilians from relentless bombs. Contact your representative and urge them to support the initiative. | | | | | | | | July 30, 2025: CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Cannon and Director of Academics Dr. Norquist Publish Article in Sojourner's Truth Titled "Lord, When Did We See You Thirsty in Gaza?," this article Biblically analyzes the ongoing Israeli depravation of water in Gaza. Combined with lack of food and medical aid, water depravation is deadly due to forced drinking from contaminated sources and severe dehydration. Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon and Dr. Benjamin Norquist extrapolate the power struggle surrounding water in Gaza to illustrate the wider regional power dynamics surrounding clean water access. Ending with a call for the church to act in the face of injustice, this article is a powerful reminder to bear witness to the weaponization of essential provisions and defy those enforcing it. | | | | | | | | August 3, 2025: Fireside Chat at National Presbyterian Church On Sunday, August 3, CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon spoke at National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC as part of their 2025 "Living Faithfully in Challenging Times" Summer Series. The conversation, attended by approximately 75 people was moderated by Rev. Dr. Quinn Fox, National Presbyterian's Pastor for Discipleship and Christian Formation. Rev. Dr. Cannon reflected on her vocational journey related to the Middle East, challenges facing the Christian community in the region, and the role Christians can play in working to support an end to the atrocities in Gaza and a peaceful future for all in Israel/Palestine and the region. A recording of the presentation is available here.
If your church would be interested in hosting a similar event, please reach out to Destiny Magnett, CMEP's Programs and Outreach Manager: destiny@cmep.org | | | | | | | | August 7, 2025: Prayers4Peace: A Letter by Father Elias Father Elias, an ordained Franciscan Friar with decades of peacemaking experience for the Israel-Palestine conflict, writes a moving letter in the aftermath of increased violence against Christian communities in Palestine. He urges fellow Catholics to view the conflict outside of the false religious-war narrative and to show support for all who live under the Israeli occupation. Ending with a call to action, Fr. Elias connects the US government's actions funded by taxpayer dollars to the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. | | | | | | | | August 14: Those Who Sow in Tears, NEME Webinar In our current climate, we can find ourselves too quick to ‘otherize’ or ‘dehumanize,' especially in contexts of loss. In this special online session on August 14th from 1-2pm EST, we invite you to join us as NEME leadership team member Rob Dalrymple hosts two members– Israeli and Palestinian– from the Parents Circle-Families Forum (PCFF) in sharing personal stories of bereavement and grief and the journey to recognize humanity in ‘the other.’ Event sponsored by the American Friends of the Parents Circle - Families Forum, DetermineTruth Ministries, and by the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME). | | | | | | | | September 11-13: Church at the Crossroads 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. | | | | | | | | 5. Boston Consulting Group modelled plan to 'relocate Palestinians' from Gaza to Somalia Middle East Eye "The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) modelled plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Somalia and Somaliland, on behalf of Israeli businessmen looking to redevelop the enclave. People familiar with the work told the Financial Times that the two African states were included among a range of countries that the Palestinians could be deported to." | | | | | | 6. Norway to review sovereign wealth fund's Israel investments Reuters "Norway's government said on Tuesday it had ordered a review of its sovereign wealth fund portfolio to ensure that Israeli companies contributing to the occupation of the West Bank or the war in Gaza were excluded from investments. The review followed a report by the Aftenposten daily that said the $1.9 trillion fund had built a stake in 2023-24 in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets." | | | | | | 7. Senator Van Hollen urges continued US action to protect Christian communities in Israel Ekathimerini "US Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has sent a letter to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee calling for continued efforts to protect Christian communities from violence by Israeli settlers and actions taken by the Israeli state. 'I write in the wake of yet another disturbing wave of settler violence to express my appreciation for your recent efforts to defend and elevate the concerns of Christian communities in the Holy Land,' Van Hollen said." | | | | | | 8. Lebanese government pushes for army plan to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end AP News "The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons in the small nation by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm the militant Hezbollah group." | | | | | | 9. Armenia and Azerbaijan to ink peace memorandum under Trump mediation Middle East Eye "Azerbaijan and Armenia are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding in Washington on Friday, committing to the pursuit of peace, according to regional sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Middle East Eye. The sources said that US President Donald Trump will host Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House for the signing ceremony." | | | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | |
