November 22nd News Bulletin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a ceremony for the 70th cohort of military combat officers, at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

ICC issues arrest warrants for Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader

Reuters

“The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza."

Security Council Meeting at the UN.

US vetoes Security Council's Gaza ceasefire resolution

BBC

“The US has blocked a Gaza ceasefire draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council - the fourth time it has used its veto power during the conflict to shield its ally, Israel. Fourteen of the 15 Council members voted in favour of the draft, which demanded that the war in Gaza "must end immediately, unconditionally and permanently and all remaining hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released."

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), joined by fellow senators U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), listens to a question at a news conference on restricting arms sales to Israel at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)

Just over 1/3 of Senate Dems back failed motion to stop sale of tank rounds to Israel

Times of Israel

"Just over a third of Senate Democrats have voted in favor of a failed bid to block the sale of tank rounds to Israel in a measure that tested the strength of the party’s progressive wing, which has pushed for a harder line against the Jewish state over its prosecution of the war against Hamas in Gaza. Eighteen lawmakers — all Democrats — voted in favor of the measure brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders along with three progressive colleagues, while 79 lawmakers from both parties rejected it."

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows Israeli forces digging along the Alpha Line separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from a demilitarized zone in Syria patrolled by United Nations forces on Nov. 5, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

UN sounds alarm at Israel’s ‘severe violations’ at key buffer zone with Syria

CNN

“The United Nations has accused Israel of “severe violations” of a 50-year-old agreement with Syria, saying it has engaged in “engineering groundwork activities” that encroach on a key buffer zone in the Golan Heights. “Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AoS (the area of separation),” the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has maintained the ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974, said in a statement Tuesday. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs and the European Space Agency shows that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been conducting excavation activity near Jubata Al Khashab, Syria since mid-August. A large earthen berm, roughly 40 feet (12 meters) wide, is being dug.”

CMEP Action Alert

During the Advent season (through Orthodox Christmas) Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and other partners are joining together to call for a suspension of arms sales to Israel and push for a comprehensive permanent ceasefire and an end to all violence. As Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank continue to suffer under the Israeli military aggression, the United States must end its active participation in the ongoing violence by halting all arms sales to Israel.

As Christians prepare for the season of Advent where we celebrate the Prince of Peace, please consider joining CMEP in our Advent not Arms campaign. Make your voices heard today by letting your members of Congress you want the U.S. government to prioritize peace and an end to violence over continuing to supply weapons that will cause further death and destruction.

CMEP Sponsors Take a Stand for the Holy Land Campaign

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is co-sponsoring the Take a Stand for the Holy Land Campaign alongside the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP) and Friends of Sabeel North America. This campaign was created to call attention to Israel’s confiscation of Christian and Muslim property and escalation of violence against Palestinians. The campaign is also endorsed by sixteen organizations, including groups from nine major US denominations as per the latest press release. Take a Stand for the Holy Land aims to increase awareness among American Christians on the land left and persecution facing the Palestinian Christian community.

Christians in Gaza: Day 416 of the genocide

Tuesday, November 26, 10:30 am – 11:30 am EST (7:30 AM Pacific)

Join Pax Christi England and Wales, and Pax Christi USA ,the Passionist Community, and Pax Christi International for an event aimed at amplifying the voices of the Christian community in the Holy Land. As of November 26, when the genocide in Gaza will reach its 416th day, Christians in the region face unimaginable hardships. Yet their unwavering faith remains a beacon of hope. This gathering provides us with the opportunity to hear directly from those enduring these harrowing times, as they share their struggles, hopes, and resilience. Through the testimonies of Fr. Gabriel Romanelli and Sami Al-Yousef, we will bear witness to the profound humanitarian and spiritual crisis affecting the Christian community in Gaza. This event is more than a call to awareness: it is an invitation to act, to pray, and to stand in solidarity with those who continue to endure, love, and hope against all odds.

Advent not Arms

Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and other partners this Advent season (through Orthodox Christmas) as we call for a suspension of arms sales to Israel and push for a comprehensive permanent ceasefire and end to all violence. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we invite you to journey with us in advocating of an holy season of peace through our campaign Advent Not Arms. Throughout the next several weeks we will provide multifaceted resources and events including a virtual and in person Advent vigils for peace, ways to reach out to your elected officials, and more as we continue to  pursue peace for all in Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, and all in the region. For more information and to contact your members of Congress click the link below.

A Peace & Reconciliation Conference Series Jesus/Eisa & the Qur'an

This educational conference is inspired by the fact that Jesus (Eisa in The Quran) holds a unique and revered position in both Islam and Christianity. It aims to explore Jesus and his teachings, focusing on his principles rather than doctrinal differences. By doing so, we seek to foster understanding, reconciliation, and collaboration between Muslim and Christian communities.

The dates for this educational conference are December 13-15, 2024. The conference will be hybrid, conducted online to support global participation and in-person in Washington D.C. to support in-depth engagement amongst U.S. Government influencers and decision-makers. The core of the conference consists of three two-hour sessions of expert speakers conducted in a time frame that allows all participants to connect simultaneously from time zones around the world: 11AM-1PM EST, 8AM-10AM PST, 8PM-10PM PKT (Pakistan).

There will be an in-person gathering as part of the online-conference on Friday December 13th, 10:30AM – 1:30PM at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20001 (Conference Room 401-F). The room capacity is 40 people, so please let us know upon registration if you would like to attend the local gathering. Seats will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

Call to Prayer Preceding the Tent of Nations December 18th Court Date

As the Tent of Nations court date approaches on December 18th, we call our community to join us in sustained and ongoing prayer for the land, the Nassar family, and for justice to finally be done. We will pray together for the Nassar's each Wednesday during our community prayer time on Zoom and also ask that you include this case in your individual daily prayers, Sunday prayers of the people during worship, and in other communities of faithful solidarity. 

 Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the war in Muwasi, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. The Israeli strike killed at least 40 people and wounded 60 others early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Israel said it targeted "significant" Hamas militants, allegations denied by the militant group. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Rabbinical group calls for stopping offensive military aid to Israel

Religion News Service

“A rabbinic human rights organization has signed on to a statement calling for an end to offensive military aid to Israel in light of the country’s continued blocking of humanitarian aid to the ravaged Gaza Strip. The group, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, made clear it does not favor an end to all military aid. It still supports defensive military aid to Israel, such as the Iron Dome, the missile shields that intercept short-range rockets. But at this time, it is opposed to further offensive weapons such as those decimating the Gaza Strip, where to date more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed with bombs and munitions that have helped to flatten the enclave and left tens of thousands homeless.”

Israeli activists surround Alice Kisiya, center, as they try to enter her family's land, after the Palestinian family was forcefully evicted by Israeli settlers backed by soldiers who declared it a closed military area, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

West Bank Christian woman leads resistance to settlers' seizure of family's land

Religion News Service

“A group of Israeli Jews said Sabbath prayers on a late October Friday as the sun set in Al-Makhrour, a valley outside of Beit Jala in the West Bank. Nearby, Palestinian Muslims faced Mecca and said their own magrib prayers. After the prayers the two groups sat together on a woven plastic mat along with a few Christians and others, to share a meal, roast marshmallows and get to know one another in a peaceful vigil, joined by another 40 people online. They had all come to support Alice Kisiya, 30, whose family had been forcibly evicted from their 1.25-acre plot in July by Jewish settlers, backed by the Israel Defense Forces.”

ELCJHL Delegation at CMEP’s And Still We Rise Summit.

ELCJHL Women Attend And So We Rise Summit

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

This weekend, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) Gender Justice Ministry participated in Churches for Middle East Peace’s And Still We Rise Summit (ASWR), focused on elevating women leaders in the pursuit of peace in the region. 11 women from ELCJHL congregations traveled to Jericho for the three-day summit where they worked toward building community, growing in ecumenical faith, and taking action towards a more just world for women and our region. During the ASWR Summit, Judge Scarlet Bishara, the first women judge on the Lutheran Ecclesiastical Court, spoke on a panel with Dr. Varsen Aghabekian, State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, moderated by Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, the Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace about gender-based discrimination in family law and the need for women in leadership positions.

From CMEP’s Own: Transferring Harm: Theological Consideration of Weapons Transfers and Long-Term Harm

Medium

In "Transferring Harm: Theological Consideration of Weapons Transfers and Long-Term Harm," Dr. Nathan Hosler and Dr. Kevin Vollrath examine the ethical and theological implications of arms transfers, emphasizing their potential to perpetuate violence and long-term harm. Drawing on Christian theological principles, they critique the normalization of weapons trade, highlighting how it often exacerbates conflicts and undermines efforts toward peace and justice. Dr. Hosler and Dr. Vollrath argue for a more deliberate, peace-oriented approach to policy-making, urging faith communities to advocate against systems that prioritize profit or political power over human well-being. This reflection challenges readers to consider the moral consequences of enabling violence through the global arms trade.

The article was originally co-authored by Kevin Vollrath, Ph.D. (then-fellow) and Nathan Hosler, Ph.D. (board member — present) in April 2022 in affiliation with Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).

Mini-Series #5 Holding on in the Dark: Spotlight on the Case for The Armenian Quarter

On Tuesday, Nov. 19th, as part of the final installment of CMEP's Holding on in the Dark mini webinar series, CMEP explored the case of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Quarter is part of the Old City and is within Occupied East Jerusalem. This Quarter, home to around 2000 Armenians, has been under threat. In April of 2023, a deal was signed between the Armenian Patriarchate and an Israeli firm called Xana Capital, which sent shockwaves through the Armenian population worldwide. Around 25% of the historic quarter would be leased for 99 years to the company to build a hotel on. This deal was made without the consent of the quarter's residents and fueled fears of displacement. Since then, the Patriarchate has tried to backtrack on the deal, taking it to the Israeli courts, saying that they were misled by Xana Capital on the conditions. As a result, Israeli settlers have begun to attack and intimidate the Armenians living there periodically. CMEP was joined by Malkon Marizian, an Armenian Palestinian living in Jerusalem who told us about the trouble facing the Armenian Quarter today and what we can do to support the local Armenians there.  

Jordan Duffner as a member of CMEP’s Catholic Advisory Council Jordan was recently interviewed on the Across the Divides podcast with Daniel Bannoura. In this episode, Daniel engages in a conversation with Jordan Denari Duffner, a Catholic public theologian, author, and educator. They discuss the work Duffner has been doing since October 7, including a sign-on letter she co-authored from U.S. Catholics on Israel-Palestine. They also delve into another article she co-authored to help Catholics better understand the situation in Gaza, Israel, and Palestine. A significant portion of the discussion is dedicated to Catholic Social Teaching. 

Jordan will also be a part of a Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought Public Life event coming up next Monday Nov 18 "Blessed are the Peacemakers" which can be accessed online or in person. 

Contact Us

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
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Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222  info@cmep.org