Change and Continuity in Soviet Policy Towards Soviet Jewry and Israel, May--December 1948.

This article focuses on the Jewish national awakening among Soviet and East European Jewry and the first signs of official Soviet policy on the Jewish Question. The period May-December 1948 is a relatively brief period in Israeli-Soviet relations, which is of utmost importance because it reflects the dilemmas and inconsistencies of Soviet policy toward Israel and Jewish issues. Jewish national awakening in the Soviet Union resulted from the integration of two main factors: The profound shock caused by the Holocaust and the Soviet government's rather liberal, albeit fleeting, policy toward the national problem.