After the 1800s, this hatred towards the Jews was not only because of religious reasons but also because the Jews were being seen as a different ethnicity as well. Because of all these reasons, till the late 1800s, Jews living around the world began feeling that no country accepts them as their own. If they wanted to live peacefully, they would need to create their own country. To create a Jewish country.
There was an Austro-Hungarian Journalist named Theodor Herzl. He started a new political movement in his 1896 pamphlet, Zionism. He said that the Jews should get their separate country. At the time this wasn’t a new idea. Since the 1870s, there were several organizations calling themselves Lovers Of Zion. They were already propagating this idea.
Because of these reasons, in 1881, the first large scale migration of Jews was seen in the Palestine area. The Jews built many permanent settlements in the area and started living there. Why did they choose the Palestine area? Because this was a very holy area for them. Jerusalem is the holiest place for the Jews. Do remember that at that time there was no Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. The whole area was Palestine. That fell under the Ottoman empire.
