From Ancient Times to the 19th Century
The bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is one of the most enduring in human history. Since the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C..E and the subsequent expulsion of many Jews from Judea, the Jewish people have lived primarily in the Diaspora — dispersed across the globe. The idea of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) remained a core of Jewish identity, practice and aspiration for nearly two millennia.
After receiving the law (Torah) at Sinai, Jews established two commonwealths in the Land of Israel. First was the monarchy, united under Kings Saul, David and Solomon from 1010 to 930 B.C.E., then splintering into the northern Kingdom of Israel, which endured until 722 B.C.E., and the southern Kingdom of Judah, which survived until 586 B.C.E. The second commonwealth period lasted from 538 B.C.E. to 70 C.E. with differing levels of independence in an area variously called Judah, Israel and Zion.
After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., many Jews were exiled across the Roman Empire and beyond. Despite geographic dispersion, they maintained a collective identity through religion, language (Hebrew and Aramaic), liturgy and law. Crucially, their connection to the Land of Israel was never severed. Daily prayers included references to Jerusalem, and the longing for return was woven into festivals, songs and rituals such as the Passover seder (“Next year in Jerusalem”) and the Tisha B’Av fast commemorating the destruction of the Temples.
The Jewish relationship to the Land of Israel evolved significantly — from a longing rooted in religious memory to a concrete, political connection with the rise of modern Zionism, the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the strong bonds that have connected world Jewry since. In 2025, roughly half of the world’s Jewish population of 16.5 million lives in Israel, with most of those in the Diaspora living in North America.
Emergence of Modern Zionism
The 19th century brought seismic changes. The Enlightenment, nationalism and the collapse of traditional Jewish communal autonomy (especially in Europe) coincided with rising antisemitism and the failure of emancipation and assimilation. Against this backdrop, political Zionism emerged — first as a vision articulated by thinkers such as Moses Hess and Leo Pinsker, then as an organized movement led by Theodor Herzl. Zionism was revolutionary in its insistence that Jews were a nation entitled to self-determination in their historic homeland.
From the 1880s onward, waves of Jewish immigration to Ottoman- and later British-ruled Palestine — known as aliyot — transformed the land and the Jewish people. Early pioneers founded agricultural communes — kibbutzim and moshavim — and resurrected Hebrew as a modern spoken language, more strongly tying Jews to Zionism and to the Land of Israel. Diaspora communities, especially in Eastern Europe and later the United States, played vital roles that grew slowly in supporting and shaping Zionist development in the Eretz Yisrael.
Israel’s Establishment and the Diaspora
In May 1948, after nearly 2,000 years, Jews re-created a sovereign state that was recognized by the international community and served as a territorially secure place for Jews after their collective precarious living experiences across Europe and the Middle East. The Diaspora-Israel relationship shifted from abstract longing to active engagement.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews immigrated to Israel. Israel-Diaspora relations were predicated upon the peoplehood connection to the land and responded to the rise of anti-Jewish hatred since the 19th century. Three-quarters of the 660,000 Jews living in Israel at independence were already in Palestine/Erez Yisrael by 1939. Jews from Arab lands and later from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia joined European survivors from the Holocaust in adding to the demographic nucleus of a Jewish state.
Diaspora Jews who did not immigrate found in Israel a focal point of communal identity, picking up their engagement and enthusiasm for Israel after the June 1967 war, when Israel escaped the precipice of destruction to deliver a smashing victory, and again after the October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Though not living in Israel, Diaspora Jews supported the state with political engagement, lobbying of their own national leaders and financial support while connecting with their families through Israel sojourns to understand and appreciate Israel’s importance to their Jewish identities.
Despite major issues about who is a Jew, how the state should navigate its relationship with Diaspora Jews, and Israel’s relations with its neighbors, the vast majority of Jews worldwide support the State of Israel, if not all of its politics or politicians.
Mutual Influence and Contemporary Challenges
In 2025, Israel and the Jewish Diaspora deeply influence each other. Culturally, Israeli Hebrew, music, literature and political discourse shape Jewish life abroad. Conversely, American Jewish values — especially pluralism, liberalism and religious expression — challenge and enrich Israeli society. Major and minor Jewish donors assist Israel’s infrastructure development. Programs involving study in or short visits to Israel, such as Birthright Israel, continually bridge gaps between the Diaspora and Israel. The notion of Klal Yisrael — the unity of the Jewish people — and the Talmudic concept of Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh — Jews looking out for one another — remain deeply rooted in Jewish law and tradition. Forged by history and shaped by modern realities, the bond of Jews with one another remains strong in the 21st century.
