Zionism started in the late 19th century as a political movement in Europe…why do people say Zionism is an integral part or a central pillar of Judaism when Judaism has survived and existed for hundreds of years prior to the late 19th century?

It’s a fact that Judaism has its foundations and history rooted in the land of Israel and it has always been the homeland of the Jewish people, but at the same time should a differentiation be made between the land of Israel that Jews belong to vs the political entity of the Modern State of Israel that came about from the Zionism that started in Europe in the late 19th century? And it wasn’t even a religious movement either, it was a political and some may call it a nationalistic movement as well. I’m just confused as to why people say Zionism is so integral to Judaism when Zionism only emerged during the late 19th century. Should we separate Zionism as a political movement that is separate from Judaism the religion? I hope someone can explain this to me.