FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2012
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

Christians United for Israel to host `Standing with Israel’ program on MUW campus

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a recently formed organization on the campus of Mississippi University for Women, will host “Standing with Israel” on Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Claudia A. Limbert Assembly Room.

The program will feature two speakers who will discuss why Israel should be supported biblically and politically, according to Jase Sayre, MUW chapter president.

John T. Somerville, CUFI central regional coordinator, is a retired Marine Corps colonel. During his 30 years in the Corps he was an infantry officer and later an intelligence officer specializing in the Middle East. He spent time in Israel, Turkey, Somalia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Washington, D.C. Somerville first went to the Middle East in the early 70s and has made more than 50 trips there in the ensuing years. His interest in the land of the Bible and archaeology enables him to speak with authority about the historical and current military/political events in the region. In 2005 he was honored with the prestigious "Friend of Israel" award. He earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

Jeremiah Nasiatka, national campus coordinator, joined CUFI in 2009 and assumed leadership of the campus program in April 2010. He came to Christians United for Israel after working as a diamond intern for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, D.C. An accomplished pro-Israel activist throughout college, Nasiatka graduated from Bryan College with a BA in communications and journalism. His passion lies in instilling conviction in his Christian audiences on their responsibility to be educated and politically active. Nasiatka and his wife, Melody, currently live in San Antonio, Texas.
CUFI was founded in 2006 when Pastor John Hagee invited 400 other Christian leaders to fly to his church and discuss the growing threats against Israel. CUFI on Campus was launched in 2009.

The MUW chapter has the distinction of being the first one in Mississippi. For more information, contact Sayre at sjs@muw.edu.