Religious Populations in IsraelReligious Populations in Israel/Palestine 1947Religious Populations in Israel/Palestine 2004Religious Population in Israel/PalestineIsrael and Palestine TodayAfter Jesus’ death, many would have thought Christianity would have ended, but because of his followers, they kept spreading the word and the religion grew largely in numbers. Since Christianity is a monotheistic religion, the leaders of the empire saw the refusal of the worship of Caesar as an act of disloyalty. The Roman rulers, such as Marcus Aurelius in AD 165-180 and Diocletian in AD 303, severely persecuted the Christians, usually ending in bloody massacres. The religion was perceived as a way of worship for the slaves and those living in poverty, so it was seen as a menace to Roman society.PROPOSAL FOR PEACEIsrael-Palestine: The ConflictCarly YorkMissy FieslerMarch 12, 2004EDGE Winter QuarterIsraeli-Palestine: The ConflictTolerance: the capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. People around the world continually violate this one word everyday. What does this word mean in relation to the Israeli-Palestine conflict? Throughout history, tolerance of other religious groups has not been good. There are many accounts of extreme violence because of intolerance of another group’s religious beliefs. Everyday we hear about bombings and innocent people being killed in Israel. Why is this happening and how can we make it stop? Tolerance is the solution, in specific, religious tolerance. Yet this suggestion is easier stated than executed. When groups of people fight for thousands of years, it is hard to break out of tradition and correct the unrest caused by history. Some have categorized this conflict as the worst the world has ever seen and the most unstable situation in the world today. This paper will discuss the history of the conflict, history and synopsis on both Islam and Judaism, ramifications of the conflict, problems with political leaders, and explore possible peace resolutions. It will also touch on historical issues that contributed to the heated situation today, as well as the current state of affairs in Israel and population analyses of Israel, the West Bank, andthe Gaza strip from the late 1800’s until today. In order to give anaccurate view from both sides of the conflict, both Judaism and Islam will receive a full historical account as well as how each religion functions and what their beliefs and practices are. Religious tolerance must be a first-rate priority for the future if this situation will ever be solved. Sacrifices and compromises must be made if people expect the Israeli-Palestine situation to be resolved soon. Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions. The fact that makes thisreligion intriguing is that it still strongly thrives today. We will look into the historical factors that have contributed to the survival of this ancient religion as well as what changes Judaism has gone through as a means of survival over centuries of societal, cultural, and political transformations.Civilization started in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia around 5000 BCE. Abraham migratedfrom Mesopotamia to Egypt in about 1700 BCE ( Nigosian 236). The Jews believe that they are direct descendants of Abraham, so this is around when Judaism took its roots. The earliest records of Judaism are from a nomadic Semitic tribe that wandered around Arabia. Abraham was an avot (father/patriarchal-like) in one of these nomadic tribes (237). As biblical tradition goes, God promised Abraham and his people a permanent place in Canaan (modern day Israel). Abrahamfollowed God’s promise and he settled in Canaan. His son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob, took over when he died. Abraham’s people lived in Canaan until 1700 BCE when there was a great famine. They immigrated to Egypt and things went well for about 3-4 centuries. The ruling under the pharaoh at that time was harsh, and they were soon enslaved into forced labor. Then something happened that is the foundation of Jewish faith. The story of Moses leading the Jews out of bondage is not only famous, but also very important in Jewish faith. During this hard time in Egypt, the Jewish population had become so large that the pharaoh ordered the killing of all male Jewish babies. Moses just happened to be one of these babies, but his mother wantedto save him so she put him in a basket in the river hoping he would find a better home. Consequently, the daughter of the pharaoh found him in the Nile and raised Moses as a royal. Before Moses lead the Jews out of Egypt, he had two experiences that changed his life. The first was the witnessing of an Egyptian beating a Jew. Something cameover him and he killed the Egyptian promptly and fled to safety eastward. The second was when he witnessed a divine being in a burning bush when he was herding sheep. This divine being, or God, said that he would lead Jews out of Egypt and into the “promised land” and that he would have the power and leadership to lead them well (238).When Moses went back to Egypt to try to persuade the pharaoh to let the Jews go, he was met with much resistance—the pharaoh repeatedly refused. Moses, with the help of God, struck Egypt with 10 plagues. The 10th plague killed all the Egyptian’s first-born children, including the pharaoh’s son. Miraculously, all of the Jewish babies were “passed over” and the pharaoh let Moses lead the Jews out of Egypt. This is why Passover is one of the most important holidays for the Jewish people, and one of the most significant events that shaped their history. Moses then led the Jews through the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments, or the Covenant, from God (238). These are the same Ten Commandments that Christians use and are supposed to live their life by.When the Jews finally reached the “promised land” of Canaan, they suddenly rebelled against Moses and God. God immediately punished them with wandering through the wilderness for 40 years. They finally crossed the Jordan River into Canaan under Moses’ successor, Joshua (240). Living in Canaan was a very different lifestyle they had to convert froma nomadic lifestyle to an agrarian lifestyle. Eventually, they started to conquer other lands surrounding them. Under King David, they sackedJerusalem and ruled