First Aliyah (1882–1903)
Main article:
First Aliyah
Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated to the
Ottoman Palestine, joining the pre-existing Jewish population which in 1880 numbered 20,000-25,000. The Jews immigrating arrived in groups that had been assembled, or recruited. Most of these groups had been arranged in the areas of Romania and Russia in the 1880s. The migration of Jews from Russia correlates with the end of the Russian pogroms, with about 3 percent of Jews emigrating from Europe to Palestine. The groups who arrived in Palestine around this time were called
Hibbat Tsiyon, which is a Hebrew word meaning "fondness for Zion." They were also called
Hovevei Tsiyon or "enthusiasts for Zion" by the members of the groups themselves. While these groups expressed interest and "fondness" for Palestine, they were not strong enough in number to encompass an entire mass movement as would appear later on in other waves of migration.
[31] The majority, belonging to the
Hovevei Zion and
Bilu movements, came from the
Russian Empire with a smaller number arriving from
Yemen. Many established agricultural communities. Among the towns that these individuals established are
Petah Tikva (already in 1878),
Rishon LeZion,
Rosh Pinna, and
Zikhron Ya'akov. In 1882 the
Yemenite Jews settled in the Arab village of
Silwan located south-east of the walls of the
Old City of
Jerusalem on the slopes of the
Mount of Olives.
[32] Kurdish Jews settled in Jerusalem starting around 1895.
[33]