Peace Index – Tel Aviv University A longitudinal research project which uses monthly surveys of Jews and Palestinians to measure trends on their feelings toward each other and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Is Conflict Religious? In 20!!" found this# Is Two-state solution dead? (See Palestinian !olls too" $rom %eptem&er, 20!' Tension #etween wanting !eace and not #elieving it$s !ossi#le $rom January, 20!( Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Researc& (PSR" – $rom !2/!' ISI An overwhelming majority of **+ &elieves that ISI is a radical group that does not represent true Islam and ,+ &elieve it does represent true Islam. '+ are not sure or do not -now. In the .a/a %trip" ! + 0compared to '+ in the 1est Ban-3 say I%I% represents true Islam.7,+ support and 20+ oppose the war waged &y Ara& and 1estern countries against I%I%. Stab#ing Attacks 1e also as-ed the pu&lic in an open-ended 4uestion a&out the motivation of the little school girls who participate in sta&&ing attac-s: 5!+ said they &elieve they are driven &y national motivation6 26+ said the motivation was personal6 and ()* said t&e +otivation was religious. !!+ said it was a com&ination of national and religious motivations. Religious fears An overwhelming majority &elieves that al 7aram al %harif is in grave danger# '!+ &elieve that Israel intends to destroy al-A4sa 8os4ue and the Dome of the :ock and replace them with a Jewish temple6 !,+ &elieve that it intends to divide the plateau on which the two mos4ues sit so that Jews would have a synagogue alongside the 8uslim holy places6 and ;+ &elieve that Israel intends to change the status 4uo prevailing in the plateau since !;(, &y allowing Jews to pray there. <nly !!+ &elieve that Israel is interested in maintaining the status 4uo without change. Peace Process and two-state solution, In the a&sence of negotiations" ( + support return to an armed intifada and an identical percentage supports peaceful popular resistance. %upport for a two-state solution continues to decline, standing today at 5'+. ('+ &elieve the two state solution is no longer practical due to settlement construction and ,'+ &elieve that the chances for the creation of a Palestinian state during the ne=t >ive years are slim to non-e=istent. Palestinian Center for Pu#lic -!inion – fro+ .ov /0(1 Religion 2 Creation o% State? @heodore 7er/l in !*;, – cultural" national, not religious @hough" to &e fair" there had &een contemporary aspirations B movements &ased on religious B situational motivations" including 7ovevei Cion" some twenty years &efore 08ontifoire using @uoroDs will money3. @hough this too was primarily agricultural-&ased on the surface. Eontemporary Cionism which led to the nation-state of Israel today was founded primarily on nationalist" not religious" aspirations &orne out of anti-%emitism B persecution" though to &e sure spiritual aspirations were tied up in the idea of Israel &eing the location for movement. @hough this was F<@ a&out ful>illing mit/vot. It was a&out creating settlements of Jewish autonomy in JewsD ancient land. Argu+ent, religiosity o% A+ericans are res!onsi#le for conflict %tudy from Pew shows G% to &e wild outlier amongst 1estern nations and on wealth)poverty e=pectation curve# Interestingly" Palestinians are slightly &elow curve &ased on e=pectations, and Israelis slightly a&ove. Ans&el Pfefer vs3 .oam &ie4af on role o% religion in conflict Religion &aving dis!ro!ortionate influence in Israeli !olitics Hi-ud party formed the coalition with the Jewish 7ome" Gnited @orah Judaism" Iulanu, and %has, with the &are minimum (! seats. Pew Israel ociety Study 5ews t&ink 6e+ocracy &ould Tru+! 5ewis& 7aw8 #ut 5ews s&ould #e !referred9 Exhi#it A, 6e+ocracy over 5udais+ Exhi#it ;, 5ews s&ould get !re%erential treat+ent Arabs (C&ristian<=usli+", 6e+ocracy s&ould tru+! 5ewis& 7aw8 #ut 9 @he survey shows that Israeli Ara&s generally do not thin- Israel can &e a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. @his view is e=pressed &y majorities of 8uslims" Ehristians and Dru/e. And overwhelmingly" all three of these groups say that if there is a conflict &etween Jewish law and democracy, democracy should ta-e precedence. But this does not mean most Ara&s in Israel are committed secularists. In fact" many 8uslims and Ehristians support the application of their own religious law to their communities. $ully '*+ of 8uslims favor enshrining sharia as oJ>icial law for 8uslims in Israel" and ''+ of Ehristians favor ma-ing the Bi&le the law of the land for Ehristians. !3 K=istential fears as precipitating factor 2) G% religiosity.