Darulfunun Ilahiyat, cilt.31, sa.2, ss.379-395, 2020 (Scopus)
© 2020. Istanbul Universitesi. All right reserved.An significant portion of the Israeli population today consists of Jews emigrating from the former Soviet Union. This is because the Soviets hosted around three million Jews. Millions of Jews lived in the territory under the control of Russia, both during the Tsarist period and during the Soviet period. This situation sometimes caused tension and conflicts between Jews and Orthodox Russians. In the Tsarist period, Jews were generally targeted for religious and economic reasons, while in the Soviet period they were mostly targeted for political reasons. This article focuses on the difficulties that Soviet Jews experienced in World War two and beyond and the reasons behind these difficulties. In this framework, Stalin’s Jewish policy and pressures in particular are discussed. In addition, the situation of post-Stalin Soviet Jews in education and faith is discussed. Finally, the reasons for targeting Jews by an atheist regime are emphasized.