According to an overview by historian Claudiu Crăciun, "communist attempts to assume control over the Jewry were effectively damaged, for the long term, by its majority Zionist orientation." Following the establishment of a Romanian communist regime, Benvenisti still made an appearance at the World Jewish Congress in Montreux, sharing the stage with CDE representative Bercu Feldman. On June 11, 1948, all Zionist organizations were shut down. A few months later, a propaganda and intimidation campaign was taken up by the CDE and the PCR. There followed clashes between the pro-communists and religious groups such as the Bnei Akiva, which led to the Zionist issue being assigned directly to the Securitate secret police. At a communist party summit in October 1948, Luca issued an order barring all categories of Zionists from attending CDE meetings, defining the Committee as an "instrument of the Party for the recruitment of the Jewish masses"; this proposal was endorsed by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who equated Zionism with fascism and American spying networks.