| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Herzog Urges Respect Between Religions During Visit to Haifa Monastery A look at violence in Lebanon, settler activity, 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: US President Joe Biden speaks during his meeting with President Isaac Herzog in the Oval Office of the White House [in July]. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) | | | Herzog urges respect between religions during visit to Haifa monastery Jerusalem Post “President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday (August 9) called for respect of all religions during a visit to the Stella Maris Monastery, which has been the scene of tensions between Christians and Breslov Hassidim who have attempted to hold prayers in the monastery. ‘In recent months we have seen very serious incidents against the Christian denominations in the Holy Land, our brothers and sisters, Christian citizens who feel attacked in the places of prayer, in the cemeteries, on the street.’” | | | | | |  | Image: View of the West Bank settlement of Eli, January 17, 2021. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90) | | | 2023 sets record for settlement construction and outpost legalization – watchdog Times of Israel “The year 2023 has set an all-time record for settlement construction in the West Bank and for the legitimization of illegal outposts, according to the Peace Now settlement watchdog. Since the beginning of the year, the government has legalized 22 settlements that were previously considered illegal outposts, based on figures provided by Peace Now to Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site. During the seven months since the start of the year, more outposts have been legalized than during entire past years, the group said.” | | | | | |  | Image: The town of Wadi Fuqin, with a population of 1,300, is dwarfed by the nearby settlement of Beitar Illit, which is home to 60,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis. (Andrew Lichtenstein) | | | Congress members advocate for the Palestinian village of Wadi Fuqin Mondoweiss “On July 25, twelve members of Congress issued a letter to the State Department calling for an ‘immediate halt to all demolitions and property seizures in Wadi Fuqin.’ The members include Reps. Barbara Lee (CA); Jan Schkowsky (IL); Rashida Tlaib (MI); Ilhan Omar (MN); Lloyd Doggett (TX); Mark Pocan (WI); Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC); Greg Casar (TX); Judy Chu (CA); James McGovern (MA); Raul Grijalva (AR); Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia (IL)” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Don’t Miss Out on the final session of our "Conversations with Middle East Christians" series. Rev. Colin Chapman will be joined by Dr. Martin Accad and Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah, both professors at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, to discuss the realities facing Christians in Lebanon. This is not a series you'll want to miss! Register now to join us on Monday, August 14th at 2:30-4 EST. | | | | |  | 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. | | | | | | Save the Date: Join Churches for Middle East Peace in Washington, DC as we mark Four Decades of Pursuing Peace at our annual Advocacy Summit from April 9-11, 2024. Spend time looking back at CMEP's 40 year history while hearing how CMEP will continue its work to advocate for peace and justice for all in the Middle East. You will also have a chance to advocate directly with your Congressional offices. More details and registration will be available soon. For now, mark your calendars! | | | | | | | | | | | | 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: Mourners carry the body of Palestinian who was killed during clashes with Israeli settlers, in a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 4, 2023. (Reuters/Ali Sawafta) | | | US calls suspected Israeli settler attack terrorism
Reuters “Washington has condemned as terrorism the killing of a Palestinian by suspected Jewish settlers, in sharpened language that appeared to reflect U.S. frustration with surging violence in the occupied West Bank under Israel's hard-right government. Israeli police detained two settlers in Friday's (August 4) incident near Burqa village. According to Palestinians, they were part of a group that threw rocks, torched cars and, when confronted by villagers, shot a 19-year-old dead and wounded several others.” | | | | | |  | Image: A supporter of Lebanon's Hezbollah gestures as he holds a Hezbollah flag in Marjayoun, Lebanon May 7, 2018 (Aziz Taher/Reuters) | | | Two dead after Lebanon’s Hezbollah fight with residents of Christian town Al Jazeera “Two people were killed in fighting between members of the Shia armed group Hezbollah and residents of a Christian town after the residents surrounded an overturned truck, in the worst clash between Hezbollah and its opponents in Lebanon since fighting broke out in Beirut two years ago. The truck – which Hezbollah said it owned – overturned on a downhill turn near the mountain town of Kahaleh on Wednesday (August 9) evening and residents swiftly shut down the road around it.” | | | | | |  | Image: Protesters in Lebanon mark the three-year anniversary of the August 4, 2020, Beirut port blast. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters) | | | Protesters demand answers on third anniversary of Beirut port explosion CNN “Hundreds of protesters gathered in Lebanon on Friday (August 4) to mark the third anniversary of a devastating explosion that ripped through a port in Beirut, demanding accountability from officials over a disaster that remains shrouded in mystery. Footage from Lebanese media showed demonstrators taking to the streets during a nationwide three-day mourning period and chanting slogans against politicians they accused of obstructing the investigation into the blast, which killed at least 200 people and injured 6,000 on August 4, 2020.” | | | | | | | | | | 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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