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Diaspora



The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew word Tefutzah, "scattered", or Galut, "exile"), the Jewish presence outside of the Land of Israel is a result of the expulsion of the Jewish people out of their land, during the destruction of the First Temple, Second Temple and after the Bar Kokhba revolt. They later spread throughout the world by either migration or conversion. The diaspora is commonly accepted to have begun with the 8th-6th century BCE conquests of the ancient Jewish Kingdoms and expulsions of enslaved Jewish population.

A number of Middle Eastern Jewish communities were established then as a result of tolerant policies and remained notable centres of Torah life and Judaism for centuries to come. The defeat of the Great Jewish Revolt in the year 70 CE and of Bar Kokhba's revolt in 135 CE against the Roman Empire notably contributed to the numbers and geography of the diaspora, as many Jews were scattered after losing their state Judea or were sold into slavery throughout the empire.