During this semester we have been introduced to the Islamic and Jewish religions and the conflicts that arise between the two. While watching The Promises Film Project, the filmmakers made it clear that many of the themes that emerged in the film really connect to some of the themes we touch on in class. Some of the main themes I noticed in the film that pertained to our class were the importance of a literal interpretation of Scripture for Palestinians and Israelis, which creates conflict, the challenge of the Holocaust to traditional conceptions of God and of Abraham as father of Judaism. The relevance of how Scripture is interpreted in both religions is very important because it is one of the central factors that create conflict between its peoples. In the film, two opposing views of the Scriptures are presented through Mahmoud, a Palestinian boy and Moishe, a Jewish boy. Moishe says, “In the book of Genesis it says, “Arise and walk through the land.” Who is God speaking to? Abraham, our ancestor." While Mahmoud underlines the point by saying: “The Jews say this is their land. What is their land like?! If it is their land, why does the Quran say that Prophet Muhammad flew from Mecca to Al Aqsa Mosque in JERUSALEM! So Jerusalem belongs to us! To the Arabs!” Since each religion sees itself as a descendant of Abraham and God promised the land to Abraham, both feel entitled to say that the land of Israel is theirs. In class we read in the Bible, or in the first 5 books of the Torah, that God referred to the Israelites as “the chosen people.” In Deuteronomy 14:2 of The Access Bible by Gail R. O'Day and David Peterson, it says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; it is you that the Lord has chosen... in the middle of the paper... are present, the conflicts between religions that we learned in class are in Israel today. The film's ending acknowledges that over the years the documentary was made, the tension between Israelis and Palestinians has only gotten worse. I think a really telling part of the film was when the Israeli teacher was talking to the students about how the Palestinians own Jerusalem and how the Palestinians don't get the freedom they deserve. The Israeli government is doing everything in its power to make sure these two religions are kept separate, which shows how deeply rooted the word of God and the holy scriptures are in these religions hundreds of years later. Works Cited O'Day, Gail R., and David Peterson. The Access Bible: New Revised Standard Version, with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.