Judea had fallen under Roman Occupation. While there was a degree of secularization, there was also an entrenchment of the religious structure and a fight for the future of Judaism. The elite and powerful Sadducees were the High Priests who held a more constrictive view of Jewish teaching and the more popular/populist Pharisees had a more open and nuanced view of Jewish teaching.
Before Judaism came into being, Israel was known as Canaan and consisted of many nation-states.
The Eastern Mediterranean, specifically Israel.
If you mean where did Christianity begin, it began in Israel.
Christianity began when Jesus of Nazareth began his ministry in Judea (now Israel)
Christianity began in Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, in the Middle East.
It began in Jerusalem, Israel which is on the continent of Asia.
Israel, Turkey, Syria, Italy and Egypt
It began in the Kingdom of Judah, in the city of Jerusalem, in the modern nation-state of Israel.
Israel is home to many people of every religion. Historically, both Judaism and Christianity began there.
Christianity began 2000 years when Jesus began His ministry and before He was crucified and rose from the dead.
It existed long before there was a Palestine.
It began in the Middle East, in the country of Israel, (which is in Western Asia.)
The beginning of the Jewish religion can be related to either Abraham which lived most of his life in the land of Israel or to Moses how was active in the Sinai desert. Both of which are in the middle east.