When did the first Jewish settlers begin emigrating from Europe to the Middle East?

Answer 1

Jews have had a constant presence in Israel since the time of the Bible. The vast majority of Jews were expelled from Israel by the Romans after an unsuccessful revolt by Jewish rebels in the 2nd century AD. After the expulsion, Jews settled in different areas of the world. Many settled in Europe, others in the Middle East and North Africa.

Zionism, the idea that the Jewish people should have their own country, was formed in the late 19th century, and Jewish settlers from Europe started to immigrate to Israel in the 1890's, when it was a part of the Ottoman empire. Jewish Immigration to Israel continued during the time before World War I. After WWI, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated, the area of Israel transferred to British control, who called it the British Mandate of Palestine. Under British control, a concerted effort was undertaken by the British government to limit and eventually stop Jewish immigration to the mandate. However illegal Jewish immigration continued until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Israeli government actively encouraged and supported Jewish immigration to Israel. Holocaust survivors from Europe, and Jews from the Middle East and North Africa flocked to the newly formed state.

Answer:The Romans never formally expelled all of the Jewish people in Judea. The Jews left gradually, as conditions worsened; but there were Jewish communities in Judea continuously throughout the time of exile. (See for example, Rashi commentary on the Talmud, Berakhot 62a.) They had a couple of Yeshivot; and we have the names of their Sages from well over a thousand years ago until today.

And by the way, the phenomenon of groups of Jews returning to the Holy Land began centuries before the advent of Zionism. Thousands of Jews exiled from Spain in 1492, for example, settled in the Holy Land.