The History of Zionism in Palestina

jewish immigration to ottoman palestine had occurred in both the 17th and 18th centuries though never as a mass movement. The so-called first alia or mass immigration of jews to palestine occurred during the period of 1881 through 1903. A thinker named theodor herzel began to advocate for a broader zionist project in the 1890s leading to the first zionist congress in 1897 this congress adopted a program referred to as the basil program which stated that the goal of zionism was to secure for the jewish people a publicly recognized legally assured homeland in palestine.