The Jewish community in Pochep, like in many other Russian cities, has deep historical roots. On May 10, 1903, Pochep and its village officially entered the Pale of Settlement, that means, the territory in which Jews were allowed permanent residence.  In 1897, 3,172 Jews lived in Pochep (32.6% of the population), in 1923 - 3,995, in 1926 - 3,616, and in 1939 - 2,314 people. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Bund organization was active in the city (in Yiddish בונד Bund - “union”, or the full name אַלגעמיינער ייִדישער אַרבעטערסבונד אין ליטע, פּוילן און רוסלאַנד).  In 1910, there were four synagogues in Pochep, a private Jewish men's school and a Jewish cemetery. In 1912, a Jewish savings and loan partnership operated. In 1914, Jews owned two fishmongers and both ironmongery shops.
During the First World War, the Jewish population of Pochep increased due to Jews evicted from the border areas and areas of military operations. In 1915, rumors spread in the city about the poisoning of two recruits by Jews, which could have provoked a pogrom. However, after the petition of the Jews, the police chief posted an advertisement refuting these rumors.
During the Civil War, the Jewish self-defense detachment was led by D. Pines. After 1917, at the invitation of his friend the writer Shimon Bykhovsky, N. Goren lived in Pochep for some time. He was a teacher at a local school and participated in the publication of the newspaper “Yediot Ha-Sovet Pochep”. In 1918-1921, a branch of the Poale Zion party operated in Pochep. In 1920, a Jewish workers' committee of trade unions and workers' organizations was organized, which was soon dissolved by the city council. That same year, a Jewish school opened. In 1926, a Jewish first-level school and a library operated in Pochep.
People from Pochep organized a Jewish agricultural collective in the Yevpatoria region of Crimea. In 1928, the Jewish agricultural collective Voskhod was formed in the Pochep region, and in 1936 the Jewish collective farm Emes operated.
In the 1930s, the last synagogues in Pochep were closed: in 1933 - Ashkenaz, and in 1934 - Beis Yisroel.
On August 22, 1941, Pochep was occupied by Wehrmacht units. From January to March 1942, more than 1,800 Jews were killed in the city. After 1945, a monument with an inscription in Hebrew was erected on the mass grave.
In Pochep, on February 10, according to the new style, 1903, Matvey Isaakovich Blanter was born - Soviet composer, People's Artist of the USSR (1975), laureate of the Stalin Prize of the second degree (1946), Hero of Socialist Labor (1983), author of the music of such popular songs in the USSR as Katyusha, The Migratory birds are flying, The Enemy burned down his home, In the forest frontline. In Pochep, the wooden house where the composer was born has been preserved. There is a memorial plaque on it, and flying cranes, the number nine and the star of the Red Army are painted on the windows. The house itself is over 100 years old and is not in the best condition.  It is located on the territory of the gymnasium. No one lives in it, but there is no museum for Matvey Blanter there.

Also born in Pochep:
Isai Grigorievich Guterman (1911, Pochep - 1981, Moscow) is an outstanding Soviet aeroclimatologist.
Shmuel Davidovich Persov (1889, - November 23, 1950, Moscow) - Jewish Soviet writer who wrote in Yiddish;
Ida Solomonovna Belyakova (1905 – 1996, Moscow) – painter, participant of exhibitions since 1936.
Nowadays, the Jewish community of Pochep has decreased significantly compared to the pre-war period and numbers no more than 10 people. However, the memory of the Jewish community remains. The city hosts events dedicated to the memory of victims of the Holocaust and preserves historical monuments associated with Jewish culture. Modern Jewish organizations in Russia and abroad continue to maintain contact with the descendants of Jews from Pochep, helping to preserve the cultural heritage and history of the community.