 | October 16th News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. |
| | 1. Houthi strike on Saudi airport kills 12, worst attack on kingdom in a decade Reuters "At least 12 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in an attack on Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, as the Iran-backed Houthis escalate a campaign they launched this summer. The dead from the third attack this week on the airport included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. At the latest count, 309 were wounded, officials said." |
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| 2. Trump says US will not attack Iran before midterm elections in November Reuters "President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will not launch an attack on Iran before November's US midterm congressional elections, asserting that the two countries are having 'productive' talks about ending the six-month-old war. 'We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 'We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.'" |
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| 3. Abbas postpones Palestinian elections, sets presidential poll for September 2027 Times of Israel "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday canceled legislative elections scheduled for November, blaming worsening conditions within the Palestinian territories, and set a date of September 11, 2027, for both presidential and legislative elections, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Abbas’s decree cited 'obstacles posed by Israeli measures' to holding elections in November and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for 'free, fair and inclusive elections.' It called on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to participate in the polls." |
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| 4. Photos: What a year of ceasefire in Gaza looks like NPR "President Donald Trump promised an end to Israel's war in Gaza after he pushed Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release remaining Israeli hostages. The deal came into effect on Oct. 10, 2025. A year later, however, there's still no international peacekeeping force in Gaza as promised and no reconstruction. Instead, Israel's military has expanded its control to roughly 70% of Gaza, squeezing more than 2 million Palestinians near the sea's edge." |
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| 5. Across the Middle East, children answer Pope Leo’s call to pray the rosary for peace EWTN News "In a Middle East scarred by war, children in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria gathered in churches and schoolyards this month to answer Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray the rosary for peace, joining more than a million young people worldwide. Their prayers were part of 'One Million Children Praying the Rosary,' organized by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and took place Oct. 1–7. This year’s campaign drew particular inspiration from Our Lady of Fátima’s promise: 'In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.'" |
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| | 6. 'Gaza's Christians Are Tired. They Want to Leave': A Palestinian Bishop on Survival, Settlers and Reconciliation Haaretz "At dawn on Saturday, October 3, 2026, Maisa Abu Dawoud and her daughter Mary, members of Gaza's Greek Orthodox community, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Gaza City. Their deaths deepen the losses of a community whose numbers have fallen by about half since the war began. During the war, 58 Christians died, either as a result of military attacks or from illness." |
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| | Oct. 12, 2026: P4P Blog: Divided Homelands: Memory, Exile, and Identity in Cyprus and Palestine In this reflection, Giselle Soares, an Orthodox Christian and former CMEP Ambassador Warren Clark Fellow, explores the shared experiences of Palestine and Cyprus through the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and Neşe Yaşın. Examining displacement, partition, and the concept of “memoricide,” Soares reflects on how conflict can threaten not only people’s connection to their homeland, but also the memories, traditions, and identities that connect communities to the places they call home. |
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| Oct 25, 2026: Peace Sunday Offering for Churches for Middle East Peace As we look forward to this year’s 40th anniversary of the Global Day of Prayer for Peace on October 27th, we join Pope Leo XIV and Christians around the world in renewing the call offered by St. John Paul II at Assisi in 1986 and reaffirmed by Pope Francis in 2023: to reject violence, uphold human dignity, and pursue a just and lasting peace. In the spirit of this global effort, Churches for Peace in the Middle East invite Christian churches throughout the United States to come together on Sunday, October 25th to participate in a national Giving Sunday. On this day, we ask U.S. churches to commit a portion of their daily collection or a special offering to the cause of our educating, elevating, and advocating for peace and make a one-time donation from this offering to Churches for Peace in the Middle East. |
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| Join the CMEP Team! Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is hiring a part time Advocacy and Bulletin Fellow (average of 12 hours a week). This position is hybrid with one day every other week in the DC office. See cmep.org/work for more information and how to apply. |
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| | October 23: Peace by Piece: Stories of Fair Trade and Faithfulness in the Holy Land In celebration of Fair Trade Month, join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and SERRV International on October 23, to hear from three "Peace by Piece" artisan-leaders in Holy Land and learn about the stories behind their work. Suzan Sahori, Executive Director of the Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans, Hadas Lahav, CEO of Sindyanna of Galilee, and Mohammed Joudeh, a Palestinian olive producer, will share how fair trade supports local producers and how the current climate is affecting their livelihoods – including ongoing economic challenges, movement restrictions, and the impacts of settler attacks. Co-moderated by CMEP's Destiny Magnett and SERRV's Serena Sato, the conversation will explore also how communities abroad can support these leaders and their communities through the Peace by Piece project partnership and beyond. |
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| October 30-November 1, 2026: CMEP Presbyterian Advisory Council in Louisville Join the Presbyterian Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) for an informative slate of events in Louisville, KY between October 30-November 1. Events will include robust discussions of the current context in Palestine and Israel, countering narratives of Christian Zionism, and concrete ways for communities to engage in initiatives that support just peace in the region. See our full slate of public events and register. |
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| November 2: Spotlight on Taybeh: CAC Fall Webinar Session #1 Join the Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) for the first installment of its Fall webinar series. This session will feature a special conversation with Fr. Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of Christ The Redeemer church in Taybeh, West Bank. Often termed "the last remaining Christian village" in Palestine, Taybeh has faced significant violence from extremist settlers. This webinar provides a platform for us to hear the latest from Fr. Bashar's experience on the ground and offer practical ways Catholics, Christians, and all people in the U.S. can take action to support Taybeh and the broader communities under threat of settler violence and land theft in the West Bank. |
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| November 5-7: Church at the Crossroads in Atlanta This November, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is excited to once again partner with the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice (BIPJ) as they bring the Church at the Crossroads conference to Atlanta November 5-7, 2026. Rooted in Scripture and kingdom-focussed theology, this conference invites participants to wrestle honestly with biblical questions, hear directly from the indigenous Church in the Holy Land, and discover faithful discipleship in a violent world. Use code CMEP for $30 off! |
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| November 14: Not in Christ's Name– An Orthodox Christian Summit for Palestine Churches for Middle East Peace is grateful to elevate the November 14th "Not in Christ's Name" Summit, led by our organizational partners, Orthodox Christians for Palestine. Orthodox Christians from every jurisdiction, along with those who share concern for justice and peace, are invited to gather for a one-day summit on Palestine. As the suffering, ongoing persecution, and displacement of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land persists, we believe our Orthodox community and all people of conscience are called to respond. This summit brings our communities together to learn how we can put our faith into action. Inaction is not an option. ALL ARE WELCOME, including those new to the Orthodox faith and those from other faith traditions. |
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| November 17: And So How Shall We Live? Palestine, Israel, & Catholic Social Teaching How should Catholics think about Israel-Palestine? How can our faith guide us? Join the Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace for the final session of its Fall webinar series with a conversation with Jordan Denari Duffner, PhD and Julie Schumacher Cohen on their new book "Israel, Palestine, and Catholic Social Teaching" (Orbis, 2026). The book draws on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) to help Catholics look anew at the Holy Land and envision how each of us can contribute to a just and peaceful future there. The book explores key ideas from CST like human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity, while also introducing readers to the difficult history of the region, its present-day realities, and its connections to policies and controversies in the United States. |
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| April 19-21 Christian Advocacy Summit for Just Peace in Palestine The Christian Advocacy Summit team is thrilled to announce our first keynote speaker for April's summit will be H.E. Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land. You can read more about Bishop Haddad's ministry and leadership, and get your summit tickets at summitforpeace.org. We hope to see you in DC April 19-21, 2027! |
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| | Contact Us Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 505
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222 [email protected] |
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