Judaism originated in the southern Levant (historical Judea and Israel) over 3,000 years ago, long before the emergence of Christianity in the 1st century CE and Islam in the 7th century CE. However, describing the 7th-century Islamic conquests as the primary force that "persecuted and evicted" Jews from their ancestral homeland misattributes the historical chronology of Jewish displacement.

Chronology of Dispersal and Displacement

Roman Expulsions: The mass displacement and systemic eviction of the Jewish population from Judea were chiefly executed centuries before Islam existed. Following the First Jewish-Roman War (70 CE) and the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE), the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple, barred Jews from living in Jerusalem, renamed the province Syria Palaestina, and sold or drove thousands of Jewish inhabitants into exile, expanding the already existing global diaspora.
Byzantine Rule: Under Christian Byzantine rule immediately preceding the Arab-Muslim conquests, anti-Jewish decrees were enforced, and Jewish residence in Jerusalem remained strictly forbidden.
The Advent of Islamic Rule
Readmission to Jerusalem: When Arab-Muslim armies took control of the Levant in the 7th century under the Rashidun Caliphate, historical and textual evidence indicates that restrictions enforced by the preceding Byzantine administration were lifted, and Jewish families were permitted to return, reside, and worship in Jerusalem.
The Dhimmi System: Under Islamic imperial governance, non-Muslim "Peoples of the Book" (including Jews and Christians) were categorized as dhimmis. This status provided official protection of life and freedom of internal worship, but it institutionalized legal and social subordination, including the payment of a specific poll tax (jizya) and various discriminatory regulations
Characterizing early Islamic expansionists as singular "squatters" who evicted original landowners simplifies a complex succession of imperial powers—spanning Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic empires—that each reshaped the demographics, governance, and religious identity of the ancient Near East over millennia