There is an ongoing attempt at revisionist history by anti-religious Zionists to belittle and minimize the earlier waves of religious settlers.
That the 1880s stands out is due to the influence of the British and French in the area, filling in the power vacuum left by the decaying Ottomans.
I’m not surprised at that. High schools are using Howard Zinn in the AP US History class. If you lose your history, you lose yourself. Satan is on the march.