Final answer:
The Jewish diaspora refers to the dispersal of Jewish people from their ancestral homeland, starting from the Babylonian Captivity in 538 BCE. The dispersion intensified after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple and persisted through history, with Jewish populations establishing substantial communities in Europe and later in the United States, especially after World War II.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Jewish diaspora occurred when Jewish people were dispersed throughout the earth due to numerous invasions, wars, and the destruction of the Second Temple in their homeland. Many Jews migrated to Europe, with large populations eventually settling in the United States. The diaspora officially began in 538 BCE during the Neo-Babylonian Empire's fall to the Persians, although a significant event in the diaspora was when the Romans destroyed much of Jerusalem and forced almost all of the Jews into exile in the 130s CE. Despite facing hardships and restrictions, including during Late Antiquity when Christian theologians hardened their attitudes toward Jews, Jewish culture managed to flourish. The Jewish diaspora is a testament to the resilience and cultural cohesion of Jewish people throughout history.
In the 20th century, the Holocaust had a profound impact on the Jewish population, decimating the Jewish community in Europe and reinforcing the movement toward establishing a Jewish homeland, which was realized with the foundation of Israel in 1948. Before World War II, large Jewish populations lived in Eastern Europe, with distinctive cultures and languages such as Yiddish. Following the war, many surviving Jews emigrated to America, making the United States and Israel the primary centers of Jewish life. Today, two major groups within the Jewish population identified by their geographic origins are the Ashkenazi Jews, of European descent, and the Sephardic Jews, associated with a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean heritage.