A land for the Jews
In the late 19th century, a significant development emerged in Eastern Europe that began to cast its shadow on the future of Palestinians. The rise of European nationalist and colonialist sentiments led to the crystallization of a political movement known as the Zionist movement among Jewish intellectuals, primarily from Eastern Europe. Zionists aimed to liberate themselves from their minority status in European societies and the dual threat of persecution and assimilation. They saw the establishment of a sovereign Jewish state as the optimal path to achieve this goal. They used the ancient Jewish connection to Palestine and its religious significance as a justification for choosing this land for their state, although some early Zionists were open to considering alternative locations.