The Town's Residents and Their Occupations
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We have better data starting in the first half of the 19th century and its second half. Yet some contradictions surface even in these periods. Slovnik Geographichny lists the town's inhabitants as 623, of whom 46% are Jews, i.e., 274 persons. Encyclopedia Evreyiska on the other hand lists 523 Jews based on the 1847 census.

The Slovnik data has over the years shown a tendency to minimize the minority population numbers. If we consider that the Slovnik data is based on taxpayer records, whereas Ency. Eevreiska is based on census records, we can accept the latter data as the more accurate of the two sources. This data is further confirmed by the 1897 census showing the town's Jewish population to have risen to 1,174. It is reasonable to expect a two-fold increase in the population in 50 years, not a four-fold increase, as implied by the Slovnik data that was published 13 years after the 1897 census. We shall therefore accept the Ency. Evreyiska as the more accurate data.

According to the notes published by the late Mr. Averbuch, Pani Laniwitz, the governor of Lanowitz, published a flyer and sent messengers in the late 19th century to other parts of Vohlyn and Podolia to recruit settlers. In his flyer he cited the merits of settling on his land Jews responded to this publicity and came. They liked the jobs that were promised dealing with estate management and the sale of its food products.

In addition, Lanowitz was blessed with sources of mineral water, a fact mentioned in the flyers and in Averbuch's notes. This must be a reference to the seven springs that in our days were used to operate medical spas. It is assumed that the flyer's mention of mineral water sources was meant to attract persons wishing to develop them.

We arrive at the conclusion that Lanowitz Jews based their economic future on trade in produce, truck farming, lumber, warehousing, management of public baths, the production of liquor, beer and charcoal, and flour milling. In summary, Jewish light industry existed since 1583 in Lanowitz on a continuous basis.

When studying the history of Lanowitz, we cannot pass over the Khemelintsky revolt of 1648 without wondering why the town is not mentioned in any sources dealing with this period. The villages of Kozachak and Nadovka, near Lanowitz, are mentioned in Sankiewicz's books as the launching pads for attacks against the Polish Counts. These historical sources provide accurate information about the fate of nearby towns such as Vishnivits, Vishugrod, Shumsk, Dubna, Kremenec and others. These sources detail that Tartars ruined one town, that another was destroyed by the Swedes or the Ukrainians. Inasmuch as Lanowitz is not mentioned in any of these historical accounts, suggests that its continuity was left undisturbed by these wars. The question is why.

The best explanation available is that Lanowitz belonged to the Russian Lord Yalovitsky. Local Jews were protected by him, thus saved from attacks by local insurgents. By contrast, nearby towns such as Vishnivits, Kremenec, Dubna and Jampoli belonged to Polish Counts. These towns were targeted by insurgents and its Jews decimated. The Jews of Vishnivits were attacked twice, once by Ukrainians, and later by Poles who accused them of conspiring with the insurgents. Lanowitz was saved this fate, thanks to the (political) efforts of the Yalovitsky family. This family was a “black sheep” among the Russian nobility due to the liberal tendencies of its members. In the political struggles that followed, their non-conformist stand and support of proposed reforms helped them survive politically. The family supported all minorities regardless of nationality or religion, hence their support of the (Polish) Kosciuski revolt, their encouragement of Jews to settle on their land, and their protection of these settlers.

Lanowitz apparently did not suffer internal community disputes under early Polish rule. The records of the Council of 4 Lands, that had the authority from the Polish king to adjudicate all Jewish internal disputes, show no judicial activity in Lanowitz. For several centuries, Lanowitz was under a liberal administration that promoted development and public harmony. Under these conditions the town Jews lived undisturbed until the beginning of the 20th century. In this century, European nations in general and the Russian empire in particular were badly shaken. That was also the fate of Lanowitz's Jews. In the 20th century Lanowitz experienced the 1905-06 pogroms when the Russian Romanoff rulers tried to deflect the national anger at their defeat in the Russian-Japanese war onto “guilty Jews.” Small pogroms occurred when Cheka bands robbed and beat up local Jews.

Lanowitz also experienced the Petlura-Machno turbulence of 1916-1918 and the destruction caused by the soldiers of Polish General Heller. The resultant killing and destruction were not unique to Lanowitz; they were experienced by the Jews of the entire region.
During the 1920ies, when a Yeshiva was established under the leadership of Rabbi Motel Speisman, a noted pedagogue, the secular schools attracted most of our youths. The maintenance of this Yeshiva with all its splendor became an example of the futility of return to biblical sources. The youths that attended the Yeshiva came away disappointed. The school provided neither general learning nor a livelihood. This group of students provided the source of ferment for a Zionist solution as a practical solution for the future.

It was then that Zionism as a solution began to be accepted. We have the first organized departure to Palestine (Israel Glaser, Yizhak Kirshon, David Gurvich, Meir Rosenthal). A carpenter that was disliked in the community leaves for Palestine because they need carpenters. We suddenly find that Palestine solves both personal and global problems. The community's youths now started to make life decisions, disregarding its parent's or village wise men's opinions, whereas the town's community was still wrestling with routine issues that engaged it for generations.

Lanowitz was noted for its learned men and capable businessmen. The latter were instrumental in having the railroad line built to connect Lanowitz to larger towns. A Hassidic Rabbi's visit to the town was both a stormy attraction and a spiritual uplifting. None of the happenings in Lanowitz affected communities outside its area. The public was periodically concerned with issues affecting the selection of Rabbis. There were usually two camps, but both behaved with decorum. Most members of the community remained indifferent to these quarrels.

The evil hand that ended the Lanowitz community terminated an interesting social experiment the world needs. A peaceful and creative world was lost. When towns such as Lanowitz disappeared, Europe lost islands of good intentions and good people. Our loss is greater, but mankind lost institutions that had the ability to control international crime.

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