Mission Update
Women's Division Still Advocating for Peace in Middle East
Humanitarian and social services are essential in creating and maintaining social stability and an educated, healthy population. When this is accomplished, then peace in the Middle East will occur.
This is the central point of a hand-delivered letter to key Congressional and Senate members from the Women’s Division and others involved with Churches for Middle East Peace.
The July letter urges members of Congress and the Senate to continue and increase United States funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – an agency primarily responsible for providing schools, health care and essential humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza.
The letter urges members of Congress to investigate how to help Palestinians undertake internal reform and commit to a political, diplomatic peace process.
Churches for Middle East Peace states in its letter that the service of UNRWA can help bring security and normalization to Israel and self-determination to Palestinians.
UNRWA has recently come under attack as critics have claimed that UNRWA has been complicit in the Palestinian uprising or suicide bombings.
Churches for Middle East Peace is distressed by these allegations:
"We ask members of Congress to base their deliberations about UNRWA on the humanitarian mandate of the agency," says the letter. "UNRWA has no authority - much less capability - to police or supervise refugee camps."
The national churches and organizations of CMEP have been involved with UNRWA staff and programs for many years, according to the letter.
"UNRWA's services are needed now more than ever since Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are unable to get to work or provide food for their families," it says.
The letter was given to members of the House International Relations Committee, House Appropriations/Foreign Operations Subcommittee, and the Senate Appropriations/Foreign Operations Subcommittee.
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