The Land of Israel had been populated by the Jewish people since 2000 B.C. Here is a timeline in case you did not realise that it is their homeland.

1900 BC – Abraham chosen by God as the Father of the Jewish nation.
1900 BC – Isaac, Abraham’s son rules over Israel.
1850 BC – Jacob, son of Isaac rules over Israel.
1400 BC – Moses leads the people out of Egypt back to Israel.
1010 BC – King David unites the 12 tribes into one nations.
970 BC – King Solomon, son of David, builds the first temple.
930 BC – Israel is divided into two Kingdoms, Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judea.
800s BC – The rise of the prophets.
722 BC – Kingdom of Israel is conquered by Assyrians.
605 BC – Kingdom of Judah is conquered by the Babylonians
586 BC – Solomon’s temple is destroyed by the Babylonians
539 BC – Persians conquer the Babylonians and take over the land of Israel
538 BC – The Jews return to Israel from exile
520 BC – The temple is rebuilt
450 BC – Reforms made by Erza and Nehemiah
433 BC – Malachi is the end of the prophetic age
432 BC – The last group of Jews return from exile
333 BC – The Greeks conquer the Persian Empire
323 BC – The Egyptian and Syrian Empire take over Israel
167 BC – Hasmonean’s recapture Israel and the Jews are ruled independently
70 BC – Romans conquer Israel
20 BC – King Herod builds the “second” temple
6 BC – Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem
70 AD – Romans destroy the temple

After that, the people were captives to the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Crusaders. Through all of these events, the Jewish people continued to live in Israel.