PRILUKI

PRILUKI, town in Chernigov district, Ukraine. A Jewish settlement in Priluki existed in the 16th century, and was destroyed in 1648 in connection with the chmielnicki massacres. The community was restored at the beginning of the 19th century. There were 2,007 Jews in Priluki in 1847, 5,722 (31% of the total population) in 1897. They then owned two tobacco factories, two flour mills, and small oil refineries. Many Jewish tailors sewed ready-made garments, which were sold in fairs in faraway towns. Apart from ḥadarim there were schools for boys and girls, and from the beginning of the 20th century, there was a Hebrew-language school. The Zionists remained active for a couple of years after the October Revolution. In 1921 a pioneer group went to Palestine, where they were among the founders of the kibbutz Kiryat Anavim. During the civil war there were pogroms on October 23, 1917, June 4–14, 1919, and in September 1919. In the 1920s Yiddish was used officially in the court of law and in the local council. Some 65% of Priluki Jews worked as factory laborers and artisans, and about 165 were members of a Jewish kolkhoz. Jews numbered 9,001 (31.4% of the total population) in 1926, decreasing to 6,140 in 1939 (16.65%). The Germans captured the town on September 18, 1941. Many Jews managed to escape. On January 15, 1942 a few hundred Jews were killed. On May 20, 1942 1,290 were murdered, and on July 10 and September 10, 1942 hundreds more were executed. About 3,000 Jews were killed during German occupation. There were about 2,000 Jews in Priluki in 1959. The last remaining synagogue was closed down by the authorities in 1961. In the 1990s most Jews emigrated to Israel and the West. (Yehuda Slutsky)