 |  | November 28th News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. | | | | 1. Palestinian-US teen held by Israel for nine months without charge due in court BBC "A Palestinian-American teenager is expected to appear in court in Israel later this week after nine months in detention without being charged. Mohammed Ibrahim, who is 16 and lives in Florida, was arrested in February while on holiday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for allegedly throwing stones at Jewish settlers, something he denies." | | | | | | 2. Israel launches new military operation in northern West Bank Reuters "Israeli security forces took up positions inside the West Bank city of Tubas on Wednesday and ordered some Palestinian residents from their homes, the latest assault in a months-long campaign across cities of the northern West Bank. Tubas Governor Ahmed Al-Asaad told Reuters Israeli forces, backed by a helicopter that had opened fire, were encircling the city and establishing positions across several neighbourhoods." | | | | | | 3. Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in attack on Lebanon’s capital Al-Jazeera "Hezbollah has confirmed that its top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Lebanon’s capital. Tabatabai, the chief of staff of the group’s armed wing, was among at least five people killed in the attack on an apartment block in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut on Sunday." | | | | | | 4. Syrian security forces use gunfire to disperse rival protests in Alawite heartland Reuters "Syrian security forces used gunfire on Tuesday to break up two rival groups of demonstrators in the coastal town of Latakia, heartland of the country's Alawite minority, witnesses and officials said. Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian violence since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Muslim Alawite minority, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government." | | | | | | 5. Anti-Hamas armed groups seek future role under Gaza peace plan BBC "Urgent questions are being raised over a patchwork of armed groups that have emerged to fight Hamas in Gaza over recent months. They include groups based around family clans, criminal gangs and new militia – some of which are backed by Israel, as its prime minister recently admitted." | | | | | | 6. Francis' popemobile transformed into mobile clinic for Gaza children NBC "A vehicle used by the late Pope Francis during a visit to Bethlehem more than a decade ago has been transformed into a mobile health clinic that Christian leaders hope will soon be used to provide care to Palestinian children in Gaza. The initiative was blessed by Francis before he died in April and was entrusted to the Catholic organization Caritas, which oversaw the project to convert the vehicle unveiled on Tuesday." | | | | | | | | Still Active: 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. | | | | | | | | Peacebuilding Lessons from the Middle East February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 2026 | Noon–2 PM
Instructor: The Rev’d Mae Elise Cannon, PhD, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
Offered at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale In a time of deep global division and conflict, this course invites participants to learn from the lived witness of Christians in the Middle East who embody faith, resilience, and hope amid adversity. Taught by the Rev’d Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), the course focuses on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, exploring how the church in the Holy Land seeks justice, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal in the face of ongoing struggle. Through an interdisciplinary blend of theology, history, and practical ministry, participants will engage in spiritual formation, examine models of conflict transformation, and gain tools for peacebuilding and advocacy. Together, we will explore what it means to “love one’s enemy” and move from apathy to action in the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East and in our own communities. | | | | | | Call to Prayer for Shadi Khoury On Sept, 8th 2025, after two years and eleven months of procrastination in the corridors of the occupation's courts, after an arrest accompanied by torture, Shadi's steadfastness during interrogation, a full year of house arrest, and thirty-seven consecutive court sessions, the judge issued his decision convicting Shadi. Please join us on Wednesdays 12:30pm EST as we pray for Shadi and all other affected by unjust violence. | | | | | | Call to Prayer Layan Nasir The cautious relief brought by news of a ceasefire deal for Gaza was shattered today with the devastating report that Palestinian activist Layan Nasir has been taken directly to prison following a court appearance. Layan and her family now face the pain of an additional eight-month sentence within Israel’s harsh prison system. The timing of this decision underscores the ongoing suffering and injustice faced by Palestinians, an unrelenting reality that persists even as hopes rise for peace in Gaza. | | | | | | Prayers4Peace: The Legacy of former Ambassador Richard Murphy In this piece, Rubin McClain, a CMEP Ambassador Warren Clark Fellow, reflects on the life and legacy of Ambassador Richard Murphy. Drawing on Murphy’s decades of diplomatic service, his deep engagement with Middle East affairs, and his steadfast support of CMEP’s mission, McClain highlights how Murphy’s wisdom, integrity, and commitment to peace continue to shape the work of those who follow. Through this reflection, McClain invites readers to consider how one person’s principled leadership can leave a lasting impact on the pursuit of justice and a more peaceful future. | | | | | | CMEP 2025 Annual Report In a year defined by unimaginable suffering in Gaza and across the Holy Land, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) seeks to embody a steady, faithful response: to hold hope when others lose it, to tell the truth when others stay silent, and to build unity where division has taken root. | | | | | | Be Part of CMEP’s Let Children Live Advent Prayer Chain and 2025 Advent Devotional This Advent, CMEP invites you to journey with us through the Let Children Live campaign with our 2025 Advent Devotional Booklet and Prayer Chain. In a season marked by hope and longing, we lift up the names of Palestinian children living under occupation and commit to praying that they may live and flourish.
As we prepare for Christmas, we remember that the peace of Christ is revealed in the lives of children, their resilience, their joy, and their vulnerability. Each day of Advent, pray for your assigned child by name, reflect on Scripture, and take simple steps toward peace.
Walk with us this season as together we pray to Let Children Live. | | | | | | | | Support CMEP’s Work for Peace
If you value the programs and advocacy efforts highlighted in the bulletin, we invite you to partner with us. Your generosity makes it possible for CMEP to continue hosting events, leading education initiatives, and amplifying voices for justice and peace in the Middle East. If you would like to support CMEP in expanding this important work, please consider making a donation today. Thank you for standing with us. | | | | | | | | | | | | Receive the Name of a Palestinian Child Alive Today and Lift them up
in Prayer and Advocacy "Let Children Live" More than two million children in Gaza and the West Bank live under brutal oppression, their lives too often reduced to statistics. Yet each child is beloved by God. The Let Children Live campaign invites you to receive the name of a Palestinian child alive today and lift them up in prayer and advocacy. Together, we can remind the world of their dignity, hope, and right to a future. Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and our global partners in this urgent call to stand with children who deserve to live and thrive. | | | | | | | | | | November 20, 2025 CMEP Let Children Live Vigil On November 20, 2025, Churches for Middle East Peace held an online World Children’s Day vigil through its “Let Children Live” campaign, gathering Christians to pray for Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank. Participants received the name and age of a living child, wrote that name and a blessing on a card, and lifted those names together in a communal moment of prayer. The vigil featured live reflections from leaders such as Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, Rania Maayeh of Ramallah Friends School, Humberto Tinsman, Bill Forbes of World Vision, and Shane Claiborne, alongside messages from Archbishop Elpidophoros, Rev. Eddie Aleman, and children from Ramallah Friends School. Through Scripture-shaped prayers, attendees interceded for children’s safety, dignity, education, and protection from violence. The vigil concluded with an invitation for each person to take one concrete act of advocacy for the child whose name they carried. | | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | |
