Definition
di·as·po·ra /dīˈasp(ə)rə/
- The dispersion of the Jewish people beyond Israel in biblical times; Jewish people living outside Israel.
- the dispersion or spread of a people from their original homeland.
Summary & Relevance
The term “diaspora” comes from the Greek meaning “to scatter”, and first emerged from the Greek translation of the Torah. Its references in Greek, and in later (1594 and 1694) in English, are to Jews and Samaritans.
Anti-Jewish bigots claim that Jews aren’t from Israel; yet the very word they use to describe their own refugee status—and a Palestinian diaspora they claim existed for centuries—comes from the notion that Jews are Judean; that is, from the Land of Israel.
In this sense, the term “diaspora” is weaponized against Jews and appropriated from us. Jews aren’t from Europe or anywhere else in the diaspora.
Infographic
Diaspora is a term coined specifically for the Jewish people. It refers to anywhere Jews reside outside of Israel; by this very definition, Jews are indigenous to Israel.
This word has been adopted by all kinds of groups, which is fine, until they talk of the Palestinian diaspora, and then, in the same post or statement, claim the nation of Israel is illegitimate and should be destroyed.
You can’t appropriate a term like “diaspora” and then erase the Jewish people and identity. Jews were the first surviving group to experience a widespread diaspora, so we can understand if you are confused that we overcame that and now half of us live back where we originated.
And we never left.
Sources & More Reading
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora#Definition
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diaspora
See: Weaponization, Inversion, Denialism, Demographics. Bundism. Antizionism. Israelism. Brainwashing.