Some Remarks on the Jewish Immigration to Palestine

Abstract

Migration was one of the most important social events that Ottoman Empire had during the second half of the 19 the century. Most of the migration to the Ottoman Empire is political migrations. Many migrated from the Balkans to Anatolia, because of the pressures in the Balkans, which were followed by nationalist rebellions. In the same vain, Russian expansionism in the Caucasus led to the migration of many people to Anatolia from this region. Political pressure against the Jews in Russia and various states in Europe forced the Jews to immigrate to Ottoman lands. The Jewish immigration differed from the other migrations in terms of its aims and functionality. The Ottoman Empire did not object to the housing of the Jews in places where it ruled except for Palestine. But the Jews did not obey the settlement policy implemented by the Ottoman state, and they followed a different purpose in their settlements to Ottoman Palestine. The Jewish migration to Palestine from Europe was an organized and planned one. It was not a spontaneous act. The idea behind the Jewish migration was Zionism in order to gather all Jews in Palestine. As a result many Jews were settled here by purchasing lands in Palestine. Although some Ottoman bureaucrats took legal measures to prevent migration due to wrongdoings of the district administrations, the immigration could not be stopped. In this study, the Jewish migration to Palestine and the measures taken to prevent this migration are discussed.