Hovevei Zion

Hovevei Zion (Hebrew: חובבי ציון‎), also known as Hibbat Zion (Hebrew: חיבת ציון‎, lit. Lovers of Zion), refers to organizations that are now considered the forerunners and foundation-builders of modern Zionism.

Many of these first groups were established in Eastern European countries in the early 1880s with the aim to promote Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel, then a part of Ottoman Empire, and advance Jewish settlement there, particularly agricultural. Most of them stayed away from politics.