Jewish diaspora

Jewish diaspora (Tefutzah in Hebrew) refers to the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. Diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun with the Babylonian Captivity in 597 BCE. Many Middle Eastern Jewish communities were established then as a result of tolerant policies and remained notable Judaic centers for centuries to come. One outcome of that was Babylonian Talmud.

Crushed Jewish revolts against the Romans by Titus in 70 and Hadrian in 135 notably contributed to the numbers and geography of diaspora, as many Jews were scattered after losing their state Judea or were sold to slavery throughout the Roman empire.

Subsequent numerous exiles and persecution, as well as political and economic conditions and opportinuties, affected the numbers and dynamics of Jewish diaspora. In today's diaspora, the largest number of Jews (5,671,000 in 2003 ¹) live in the US, 371,000 in Canada ¹.

Israel's Jewish population, usually is not considered as diaspora, was about 5,094,000 in 2003 ¹. See Demographics of Israel.

¹According to the article by Tovah Lazaroff, Jewish people near zero growth published in Jerusalem Post on June 24, 2004.

See also

• Timeline of Jewish history
• Anti-Semitism and History of anti-Semitism
• Christianity and anti-Semitism
• Arabs and anti-Semitism
• History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union
• History of the Jews in Poland
• History of Israel
• Great Jewish Revolt
• History of Jews in the United States