Diaspora

Diaspora is a feminine noun originating from the Greek term “diasporá”, which means dispersion of peoples , for political or religious reasons.

The word diaspora derives from the Hebrew and means dispersion , expulsion and exile .

It is the term that defines the migrations of the Jewish people – almost always by expulsion. The direct consequences of the diaspora are in the formation of Jewish communities.

This concept first appeared thanks to the dispersion of the Jews in the ancient world, mainly after the Babylonian exile, a dispersion that continued to occur over the centuries and that occurs until today.

Despite its origin, the term diaspora is not used exclusively in the case of Jews and serves to describe any ethnic or religious community that lives dispersed or outside its place of origin.

What was the Jewish diaspora?

The Jewish diaspora is predicted in the Bible and defines the people’s search for the promised land.

Egypt and Babylon were the destinations of the Jews in the two main diaspora movements from the 6th century BC onwards.

Although they were enslaved, the movement allowed for the exchange of cultural, linguistic and religious information, reinforcing the identity of the people.

disputes

The dispersion of the Jewish people stems from clashes with other peoples and disputes over territories.

The first of these migrations is recorded in the year 586 BC, when the emperor of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar II destroys the temple in Jerusalem and deports the Jews to Mesopotamia.

Jews had been in the region since 722 BC after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, who enslaved the ten tribes of Israel.

At least 40,000 people were deported to Babylon. The community remained in the region until the beginning of the 20th century, when Jews emigrated from Iraq.

Holy Scriptures

Although in exile, the Jewish people maintained the tradition of disseminating the scriptures through Jewish study centers.

Thus, they ended up spreading around the world. There are records of communities leaving Britain for China, Denmark for Ethiopia, Russia, Central Africa and Turkey.

The second diaspora is recorded in 70 BC, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews left for Asia, Africa and Europe.

Jews settled in Eastern Europe are called Ashkenazi and those from the Iberian Peninsula are called Sephardim.

Zionism

Zion is the name of the mountain where the Temple of Jerusalem was located. After World War II, 1945, Jewish political and religious leaders returned to discuss the movement classified as Zionism, which means the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.

The return was driven by the massacre of the Jewish people, at least 6 million were murdered during World War II. With the creation of the State of Israel, in 1948, the diaspora of almost 2 thousand years for the Jewish people ends.

African and Chinese Diaspora

The African diaspora or black diaspora as it is also known, was a historical and sociocultural event that occurred mainly because of slavery at that time, as African citizens were taken by force on ships to work in other countries, spreading and separating into different locations in the world.

In the case of the Chinese diaspora, we can see that Chinese citizens left to go to other places in the world with trade and economy as their main objective. Wherever the Chinese go, they adapt quickly and start all kinds of profitable businesses.