The Covert Push-Factor: How the Yugoslav-Soviet Conflict of 1948 Influenced Organized Jewish Emigration from Yugoslavia to Israel (1948–1952)

Organized Jewish emigration from Yugoslavia to Israel followed within a matter of months once an independent Jewish state was proclaimed. Between 1948 and 1952, more than half of the Yugoslav Jews who had survived the Holocaust decided to settle in the newly formed state of Israel. This emigration coincided with a tumultuous period in the post-World War II history of Yugoslavia. The conflict over ideological differences between Yugoslav and Soviet communism had peeked in June of 1948, resulting in what later turned out to be a permanent shift in relations. The chronological overlap alone secured that the conflict and its consequences would play a significant role in the process of organized emigration from Yugoslavia to Israel. However, as the subject could not be spoken about directly, its implications remain subtle throughout. This paper aims to define its potential as a push factor, by analyzing the way in which the conflict makes itself visible within the migration process. A difference is made between the way in which the conflict shaped the participation of Yugoslav authorities and the Federation of Jewish religious communities in the emigration and it acting as a basic push factor on the level of individuals leaving the country.