1. (noun) the body of Jews (or Jewish communities) outside Palestine or modern Israel

• body

2. (noun) the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel; from the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 587-86 BC when they were exiled to Babylonia up to the present time

• dispersion
• scattering

3. (noun) the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as a people or language or culture)

• dispersion
• distribution