For at least two thousand years Jews were dispersed all over the world. Some of them inevitably assimilated with other nations. Yet many kept their identity as a nation by staying loyal to their religious faith and by their desire to survive as one people preserving common racial features and cultural traditions. Some European anti-Jewish tendencies and the suspicious attitude to Jews in oriental cultures contributed to their solidarity.
For centuries Jews cherished the idea of returning to their native land. But it was only in the 19th century that the idea developed into a political movement called Zionism. At first the movement was not very popular among Jews. There were supporters, but most rabbis considered the concept of restoring
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