Population of Israel/Palestine before Jewish immigration?

Question

A lot of people say that the area of present-day Israel was nearly deserted before the Zionist movement of the early 20th century. According to Wikipedia (not always the most accurate source, but I digress) the population in that area in 1890 was 520,000. Of those 520,000, there were approximately 20-25,000 Jews, or roughly 4.8% of the population.

To put this in perspective, Israel is approximately the size of New Jersey. The population density in 1890 would have been roughly equal to that of present-day Mississippi (would you say Mississippi is deserted?). The Jewish population (as a percentage) in Israel at that time was approximately the same as the Asian-American population in the US today. By 1917, the Jewish population made up 11%.

Are these statistics accurate? If so, from a secular perspective, wouldn't it have been smarter to make a Jewish homeland somewhere else (where there wasn't a history of conflict)?

To Marguerite...for the most part, that was a good argument. The fact that the land was largely desert is irrelevant, it was still the home of the people that lived there. As for moving the Native Americans, we didn't put the reserves on most tribes' native lands. Most Native American tribes believe that "the Great Spirit" gave them the land that they lived on. If the Shawnee decided they wanted to have a homeland in Ohio, would we give it to them?

Answer 1

Israel was established in what was, historically, the homeland of the Hebrews. They first established a kingdom there about 1,000 B.C. Subsequently, the land was invaded by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans and Macedonians under Alexander the Great.

Once Christianity became established, much of the local populace followed that faith until the Muslims invaded in the 7th Century. Under most Muslim rule, Jews and Christians were allowed to live but had to pay exhorbitant taxes but there were times when those who did not convert willingly to Islam were killed. Many Jews left the country at this time, for countries where they were better treated.

Eventually the region became part of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

Starting in about 1820 the Zionist movement encouraged Jews of the Diaspora to resettle their ancestral homelands and in 1917 their right to do so received British backing under the Balfour declaration. When Hitler's persecutions began in Germany in the 1930's many German Jews relocated to Israel (then called Palestine) After WW2, when details of Hitler's genocide became well-known, much of the world sympathized with the plight of surviving Jews and encouraged their resettlement in Israel, which, from 1923 had been administered by Great Britain under a mandate from the League of Nations . This ended after WW2 and then the United Nations in 1947 voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab regions.

The British formally withdrew in 1948 and the State of Israel was proclaimed. Almost immediately Arab forces from the surrounding states of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon , Jordan and Iraq invaded the new country. However, despite smaller numbers, the Israelis won the war and took additional territory.

In 1949 the United Nations formally recognized Israel as a sovereign nation and member state. At that time, besides the Jewish population, there was a majority of Christians and a minority of Muslims.

Upon Israel's declaration of nationhood, the Muslim population was instructed by their leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, not to recognise Israel, even though Israel was quite willing to allow freedom of religion and worship for non-Jews as well as full civil rights.

The Arabs have been trying to destroy Israel ever since, with many of them having written into their constitutions that Israel has no right to exist and that it must be wiped out.

While such attitudes exist, the possibility of peaceful co-existence is impossible. Terrorist activities such as "suicide" bombings have caused many decent people to emigrate to other countries. The Christian population is now about one-tenth of what it was twenty years ago, while the Muslim population has increased prolifically due to a high birth rate.

Prior to the Zionist movement, much of Israel was DESERT, and the labour and skills of the Jewish immigrants has turned that desert into arable land, and has brought prosperity to the region, providing work for Jews and Arabs alike.

As far as making a Jewish homeland somewhere other than the land from which they sprung, where would you suggest?
Would you also suggest that Native Americans should move to uninhabited Pacific Islands or Australian aborigines should make their home in Antarctica?

Answer 2

Palestine was NEVER deserted. It was rural. So was the U.S.

Compare the U.S. population prior to the massive immigration from Europe in the 1880 and you will see it was also sparely populated and RURAL.

Palestine was farmland. The people were farmers. That is why there is fighting. The Jews seized farmland and took the Palestinians livelihood. If they were not predominately an agricultural society the Palestinians would have ignored the Jews the same way they ignored the Turks, the British and anyone else that claimed ownership of the area. The colonial powers could call the country anything they wanted. It was not until the European Jews stole the farmland that the Palestinians fought back. The moment the Jews messed with their lands they took up arms. The Palestinian had not had problems with the Jews when they move into Jerusalem, but once they started taking farmland that was when the trouble began.

Here are the population before and after the European Jews invaded Palestine.

There was less than 200 Jews in Palestine before 1800.

The number of Jews in Palestine reached 1500 in 1860.

In 1881 the number of Jews in Palestine was 10,000.

In 1900, Palestine had a population of about 600,000 of which 94% were Arabs.

1917
Total 704,000
Muslim 574,000(82%)
Jewish 56,000(8%)
Christian 74,000(10%)
Other Unknown


1922
Total 752,048
Muslim 589,177(78%)
Jewish 83,790(11%)
Christian 71,464(10%)
Other 7,617(1%)


1931
Total 1,036,339
Muslim 761,922(74%)
Jewish 175,138(17%)
Christian 89,134(9%)
Other 10,145(1%)

1945
Total 1,764,520
Muslim 1,061,270(60%)
Jewish 553,600(31%)
Christian 135,550(8%)
Other 14,100(1%)

Jewish population in 1917 was 8% not 11%.

The Zionist wanted Argentina. It was the British that promoted Palestine to the Jews. It started during the early 1800s when Britain was at war with France and France already had a strong hold in the Middle East. Britain wanted a secure route to India and needed a passage through the Middle East. Afraid that France would block it's passage to India, Britain tried to import Jews from Britain to Palestine.
When not enough Jews immigrated to Palestine it encouraged Jews from throughout Europe to immigrate.
When the Zionist movement took hold in the late 1880's, the British offered up Palestine to the Zionist with the promise of free land. The Zionist refused the British offer for nearly 50 years.
If the Jews want their own land, Europe is up for grabs and they are genetically Europeans.
Britain might welcome them back. Although the Jews were first expelled from England in 1290.

Answer 3

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RE:
Population of Israel/Palestine before Jewish immigration?
A lot of people say that the area of present-day Israel was nearly deserted before the Zionist movement of the early 20th century. According to Wikipedia (not always the most accurate source, but I digress) the population in that area in 1890 was 520,000. Of those 520,000, there were...

Answer 4

The thing was that the UN partition plan was not set to make a Jewish state in all of British Palestine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_UN_Partition_Plan

Their was to be a Jewish state and a Palestinian state.

In the area of the Jewish state it would be about 55-60% Jewish. Adding the fact that about one million Jews were wating immigration to Israel from Europe this would have resulted in a Jewish state with a signifigant Jewish majority.

As was the case in 1949 when Israel was about 80% Jewish and 20% Arab.

Answer 5

I have no idea whether Wikipedia's statistics are accurate. As everything about that region is politicized, I'm sure you can find someone to argue that point as well as all others.

When you say it would have been smarter to make a Jewish homeland somewhere else, you are implying that there was a single, and single-minded, authority that oversaw the whole matter. In fact, there were schemes to make a "Jewish homeland" somewhere else--notably Uganda--but I challenge you to find a livable piece of land in the world that is underpopulated, peaceful, and would welcome wholesale immigration by complete strangers. Just consider the amount of noise that's being generated over immigration in the US, itself a country of immigrants.

I'd be interested in knowing more about why the Palestinians didn't accept the UN plan to partition the area between Israel and Trans-Jordan.

Answer 6

From other sources (papers on Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel-Palestine) in 1890 there were 43,000 thousand Jews out of 520,000, 35,000 more came during the first 10-15 years of the 20th century. Till 1923 another 35,000 Jews came. The period between 1925 and 1933 was a period when more Jews left than came and only when Hitler came to power more Jews came and the Jews became 30% of the population (instead of 8% at the end of the 19th century).
The arabs did not like this shift in power and the first riots initiated by the arabs started and lasted for 3 years (1936-1939). The Jews never really left Israel, some Jews always lived there but when riots started in Russia and other countries an awakening happened and Jews returned to Israel as it was their homeland given by God. One can laugh but this is the reality. The statistics you have are quite correct (give or take) and the offers to settle Jews in other copuntries like Argentina and Uganda did not really excite part of the movement we call today Zionism.
End of lecture.

Answer 7

Amazing lying in the "best answer" comment.

Plus that area was always very diverse not only Hebrews lived there. Fact Hebrews were nomadic people and settle (took) in what was Canaan. Present day occupied Palestine. Hebrews do not originate from that region. Jews do not have an starting point in that region. There was a kingdom of Judea this and that over 2000 years ago. Recreating such thing is insane. A large number of Jews from Europe (not Hebrew related) started to migrate to Palestine to create such awful thing that is Israel today. The number of Palestinian Jews was very small in 1917 and before that even much smaller.

Answer 8

I think Mississippi has a good many more than 1/2 million people, but okay.

There were a lot of suggestions for the location of a Jewish homeland, but a good many nations weren't particularly welcoming. For example, there was a discussion of Argentina, but that's not an area that's historically friendly.

By all accounts the Arab landowners and officials in the area were delighted to sell land to the Jews. The area wasn't deserted, but it wasn't considered such a garden spot, either, being mostly desert or swamp. It was only when the surrounding nations realized that a real nation was being formed, with a real army, that they got weird about it.

I'm not delighted with the way things have turned out thus far, but I do believe that if and when people gradually wise up, which I think they will, they'll realize that Israel was the best thing that could have happened to the Middle East.

Lately, unfortunately, fundamentalists have taken power on both sides, with a corresponding decline in rationality and intelligence.

Answer 9

The jewish population before WW1 was very small. Immigration didn't start to any great extent till after the war.
Palestine had a large mixed population of Arabs, Greeks, Turks and Syrians.