Answer:
   
   Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, and one of the names by which Jews have
   always referred to their homeland, the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel).
   The name 'Zion' is used in Tanakh both for the land of Israel and for
   its national and spiritual capital, Jerusalem.
   
   Zion (Pronounced 'tsee-yohn' in Hebrew) has had a continuous Jewish
   population for thousands of years. For many centuries the majority of
   the Jewish people have lived dispersed in countries all over the
   world. Yet, powerful national-spiritual bonds--expressed mainly in
   liturgy and literature--have constantly linked these Jewish
   communities with their ancestral homeland.
   
   After centuries of decline and neglect under foreign occupation, Zion
   is flourishing once again, with the large increase in its Jewish
   population over the past 100 years, and the restoration of its
   political independence in 1948.