Abstract
‘Return’ explores the concept of diasporic peoples returning to their homeland. Even when this journey was possible, many groups stayed put. The Zionist movement was an expression of the Jewish desire for a national homeland. They chose Palestine, which ironically created another diaspora of displaced Palestinian refugees from the ensuing years of conflict. The Israeli Law of Return guarantees citizenship for all people of Jewish heritage, but still many proudly Jewish people remain outside Israel. Africans were encouraged to return to Africa from America after abolition. Many resisted, thwarting the colonialist intentions of white ex-slavers, but others called for a ‘black Israel’. The Rastafari see Ethiopia as the Promised Land.
