Issues
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) invites you to become advocates for just US policies in the Middle East by encouraging your representatives in Washington to pursue holistic peacebuilding efforts, provide humanitarian aid and economic assistance, and promote human rights in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and the broader region. While this may seem like a daunting task, we wish to provide you with the resources that you will need to become effective voices for peace. You can learn about the issues facing the Middle East–both the background and current realities–by visiting the pages below. While these issues are categorized, we are aware that these issues can easily fall into multiple categories. Please check back periodically as we continue to make updates.
Holistic Peacebuilding
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict is quickly approaching its one hundredth year. A just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not only serve the cause of peace and justice in the Holy Land but also promote peace in the broader Middle East region in general.
Jerusalem
Sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, the status of Jerusalem must be resolved in a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, assuring access to the Holy Sites for all three faiths
Humanitarian Aid & Economic Assistance
Gaza
Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires humanitarian assistance and commitment to equitable development from the United States and other nations in order to foster reform and contribute to building a thriving civil society for Palestinians.
Human Rights
Annexation
Israel is considering whether to annex large parts of the West Bank with the U.S. government supporting and coordinating the annexation. What does this mean? How will this impact the daily lives of Palestinians and the prospect for peace?
Settlements & Displacement
The existence and continuing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands increasingly dims the hopes and realistic prospects for a two-state solution and is a major threat to peace.
Child Detention in the West Bank
Every year between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are tried in the West Bank under Israeli military law. Ensuring that minors receive treatment in accordance with the needs of their age within criminal justice systems is a widely accepted principal of international law.
Separation Barrier
In 2003 Israel announced the construction of a barrier to separate Israel from the West Bank. Only 15 percent follows the 1949 Green Line. Because its route does not exactly follow the ceasefire line, its construction is a violation of international law.
Water Insecurity
The water available for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is well below the World Health Organization’s recommended 100 liters per person per day, which contributes to inequality and lack of development.
Broader Middle East
Egypt
Home to the largest Christian minority in the Middle East and bordering both Israel and Gaza, Egypt is vital to both the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and interfaith relations.
Israel
Israeli society is both ethnically and religiously diverse. Learn about this country and the challenges it faces culturally, religiously, and regionally.
Jordan
Not only has Jordan played a seminal role as a peacemaker in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, but has also made significant strides in interfaith dialogue.
Oman
Often thought of as “the Switzerland of the Middle East,” Oman favors pragmatic policies and relationship building to promote peace.
Yemen
A relatively new country within the political landscape of the Middle East that has faced enormous economic and political challenges since its unification in 1990. As the civil war in Yemen has increasingly been depicted as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the United States has taken a strategic interest in the conflict.
