The Rise of Zionism

Back in the Ottoman era, the exact percentage of Jews prior to the rise of Zionism is unknown. However, it probably ranged from 2 to 5 percent. 

According to Ottoman records, a total population of 462,465 resided in 1878 in what is today Israel/Palestine. Of this number, 403,795 (87%) were Muslim, 43,659(10%) were Christians and 15,011 (3%) were Jewish. 

The Jewish communities around the world consider Palestine at that time as the holy land of the Bible. Pilgrimage in Judaism does not have the same role as it does in Christianity and Islam, but nonetheless, some jews did see it as a duty and in small numbers visited the country as pilgrims.

Let's see how Palestine's 400 years history of Ottoman looks at the official website of the Israeli foreign ministry by relating to the history of Palestine since the sixteenth century. 

Following the Ottoman Conquest in 1517, the land was divided into four districts, attached administratively to the province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul.

At the outset of the Ottoman era, some 1,000 jews families lived in the country, mainly in Jerusalem, Nablus (Schechem), Hebron, Gaza, Safed (Tzfat) and the villages of Galilee. The community was composed of descendants of Jews who had always lived in the land as well immigrants from North Africa and Europe.

Orderly government, until the death (1566) of Sultan Suleiman the magnificent, brought improvements and stimulated Jewish immigration. Some newcomers settled in Jerusalem, but the majority went to Safed where, by the mid -16th century, the Jewish population had risen to about 10,000, and the town had become a thriving textile center. 

What happened next?

By quoting the foreign ministry website, "With the gradual decline in the quality of Ottoman rule, the country suffered widespread neglect. By the end of the 18th century, much of the Land was owned by absentee landlords and leased to impoverished tenant farmers, and taxation was as crippling as it was capricious. The great forests of the Galilee and the Carmel mountain range were denuded of trees; swamp and desert encroached on agricultural land.

The Israel that exists today is only based on their Ideological beliefs and restricted to their norms and values.......Now, you can relate to where Israel exists now.

Reference:

Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappe