Why didn't Jews return to Palestine before Zionism- or did they?

If Jews have always been yearning for return to their homeland, why didn't they begin to return until the 19th century?

This challenge, probably first formulated by Marxist critics, betrays either boundless cynicism or ignorance of history. Jews did try to return to Zion throughout the 2,000 year exile, and many did settle in Jerusalem, Safed, Hebron and other towns, despite enormous hardships.. However, given the lowly political status of the Jews, any international movement would have been doomed to failure, as were the numerous false messiahs like Shabbetai Tzvi, who promised to rebuild Jerusalem. It is like asking, "If workers and peasants didn't like being downtrodden, why didn't they make a Bolshevik revolution in the Middle Ages?"

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