What was the israelite diaspora?

Answer 1

The Diaspora (scattering of the Jewish people) was what happened when we were unable to live in the Holy Land.

1) Around 2600 years ago, the Assyrians forcibly exiled the Ten Israelite tribes to points unknown. A small percentage of each of these tribes is still among us, but most of them were exiled.

2) Around 2500 years ago, the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple and forcibly exiled the remainder of Israel's population to Babylonia.

While the Jews were permitted to return to Israel (Judea) seventy years later, and thousands did so (and rebuilt the Temple), most of them remained in Babylonia, while others began to settle in North Africa, southern Europe, the Crimea, throughout the Near East and elsewhere.

3) In 68 CE, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. The Romans did not force the Jews out of Judea in a single expulsion. Rather, the Romans expelled them from Jerusalem only; and the rest of Judea lost its Jews slowly, over a period of centuries, as conditions in Judea became too harsh. Even then, we have records of Jewish communities who lived in Judea (Palestine) during the entire period of the last two millenia.

Those Jews who left Judea went to southern Europe, North Africa, Arabia, the Near East, and (slowly) further afield (especially throughout Europe).