Tapestry of Faith: Heeding the Call: A Program on Justicemaking for Junior High School Youth

Leader Resource 1: Timeline

165 BCE—The last Jewish state of biblical times is established following a revolt in Judea

63 BCE—Roman conquerors place Judea under the Roman province of Palestine

70 CE—Romans suppress a revolt and the following centuries include the dispersion, banishment and selling as slaves of the Jewish people

638 CE—Arab Muslims conquer the Byzantine Empire (which had replaced Roman rule)

1918—Britain occupies the region after the fall of the Turkish Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. This ends more than 1,200 years of Muslim rule in the region. Escaping anti-Semitism in Europe and Russia, a massive movement of Jews to what is then known as British Mandated Palestine is already underway.

1922—A British census shows that the Jewish people comprise nearly 11 percent of the mostly-Arab population of 750,000. Over the next 15 years, another 300,000 Jews arrive in the region.

1947—Britain hands over control to the United Nations. Conflicts are widespread in which Arabs believe they are natives in the region while Jews believe they are returning to their native homeland. With political, financial and military support from Britain and the United States, Jewish forces conduct the first forced removals of Palestinians from homes and neighborhoods in December 1947.

May 14, 1948—Israel is established as the first Jewish state in nearly 2,000 years.

May 15, 1948—Palestinians mark this day of the declaration of a Jewish state as "The Catastrophe." Armies from Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Egypt invade the newly-formed Israel. Israeli forces repel the invasions.

1948-Present—Attacks continue on both sides while news reports focus on the differences between the two groups. Yet it is essential for creating a region of mutual respect and dignity to remember the groups' common ground.