A Community Before the New Yishuv
The Old Yishuv refers to Jewish communities in Ottoman Palestine before the Zionist aliyah waves and the rise of the New Yishuv. Many residents were religious Jews who relied on donations from Jewish communities abroad rather than on farming or other independent livelihoods.
The population included Sephardim, Arabic-speaking Musta'arabim, and Ashkenazim who arrived in different periods. Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed were its principal centers, though smaller communities existed elsewhere. War, persecution, earthquakes, and economic hardship repeatedly disrupted Jewish life, while migrations and restored Ottoman rule helped communities grow again.
A system called halukka distributed charitable funds raised across the diaspora. The Old Yishuv also had modest sources of income, including the export of etrogs for the Sukkot festival. By the late 19th century, its boundaries with the New Yishuv were increasingly blurred.