The history of the Jews in Belarus begins as early as the 8th century. Jews lived in all parts of the lands of modern Belarus. In 1897, the Jewish population of Belarus reached 910,900, or 14.2% of the total population. Following the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1920), under the terms of the Treaty of Riga, Belarus was split into Eastern Belorussia (under Soviet occupation) and Western Belorussia (under Polish occupation), and causing 350,000-450,000 of the Jews to be governed by Poland. Prior to World War II, Jews were the third largest ethnic group in Belarus and comprised more than 40% of the urban population. The population of cities such as Minsk, Pinsk, Mogilev, Babruysk, Vitebsk, and Gomel was more than 50% Jewish. In 1926 and 1939 there were between 375,000 and 407,000 Jews in Belarus (Eastern Belorussia) or 6.7-8.2% of the total population. Following the Soviet annexation of Eastern Poland in 1939, including Western Belorussia, Belarus would again have 1,175,000 Jews within its borders, including 275,000 Jews from Poland, Ukraine, and elsewhere. It is estimated that up to 800,000 of 900,000 — up to 90% of the Jews of Belarus —were killed during the Holocaust. According to the 2019 Belarusian census, there were 13,705 self-identifying Jews in Belarus, of which most are of Ashkenazi origin. However, the Israeli embassy in Belarus claims to know about 30-50 thousand Belarusians with Jewish descent (as of 2017).
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Gomel in the context of Chernobyl
Chernobyl, also known as Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 90 kilometres (60 mi) to the north of Kyiv and 160 kilometres (100 mi) to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. Prior to being evacuated in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, it was home to approximately 14,000 residents—considerably less than adjacent Pripyat, which was completely abandoned following the incident. Since then, although living anywhere within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is technically illegal, Ukrainian authorities have tolerated those who have taken up living in some of the city's less irradiated areas; Chernobyl's 2020 population estimate was 150 people.
First mentioned as a ducal hunting lodge in Kievan Rus' in 1193, the city has changed hands multiple times over the course of its history. In the 16th century, Jews began moving into Chernobyl, and at the end of the 18th century, it had become a major centre of Hasidic Judaism under the Twersky dynasty. During the early 20th century, pogroms and associated emigration caused the local Jewish community to dwindle significantly. By World War II, all remaining Jews in the city were murdered by Nazi Germany as part of the Holocaust.