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Russian Jews arriving at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv. Since 1967 more than half a million Jews from the former Soviet Union have emigrated to Israel. The ancestral home of the Jews remained central to Jewish culture in the Diaspora, and Jews continued to return to Israel during the Middle Ages in small numbers. |
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At the end of the 19th century, with the beginning of
Zionism, immigration increased. After the Holocaust, the United Nations partitioned the country to make the establishment of a Jewish State possible. The Arab population and the Arab states bordering on Israel did not accept this solution. A bloody conflict ensued that culminated in three major wars between Israel and its neighbors. In recent years peace has been established with most of these states, and partition of the country is again being attempted. Today, Israel is again at the center of Jewish cultural and religious life. |
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