Oni Synagogue

{{Short description|Synagogue in Oni, in the Republic of Georgia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Oni Synagogue | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Oni Synagogue, building.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The synagogue in 2007 | religious_affiliation = Judaism | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = Georgian Jewish | festival =  | organisational_status = Synagogue | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = 53 Vakhtang VI Street, Oni, Racha | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = Georgia | map_type = Georgia | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the synagogue in Georgia | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|source:Wikidata_region:GA_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = {{nowrap|Synagogue architecture}} | architecture_style = {{ubl|Eclecticism|Moorish Revival}} | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = {{circa|1801}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1895 | construction_cost = | date_destroyed = | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = Stone | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = | module =  | footnotes = <ref name=CJA>{{cite web |url=https://cja.huji.ac.il/mhs/browser.php?mode=set&id=10249 |title=Synagogue in Onii |work=Historic Synagogues of Europe |publisher=Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Centre for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |date=n.d. |access-date=20 June 2024 }}</ref> }} The '''Oni Synagogue''' is a synagogue, located at 53 Vakhtang VI Street in Oni, in the Racha region of Republic of Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/journey-to-oni-georgia |title=Journey to Oni: a forgotten synagogue in Georgia’s Racha province |last=Mitchell |first=Laurence |website=Hidden Europe |access-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref> The Oni synagogue was built in 1895 and is the oldest functioning synagogue in Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jewish-heritage.org.il/subcontentpage.aspx?id=207 |title=בית הכנסת החדש באוני |website=www.jewish-heritage.org.il |access-date=2018-04-25 |lang= }}</ref><ref name=":0" />

==History== The synagogue was built in 1895 in an eclectic Moorish Revival style.<ref name=CJA/> It is Georgia's third largest synagogue after the Great Synagoge of Tbilisi and the synagogue of Kutaisi.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/15053/oni-the-lonely |title=Oni the Lonely |last=Renner |first=Pamela |date=September 8, 2009 |work=Tablet |access-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref>

During the 1991 Racha earthquake, the synagogue was severely damaged.<ref name=CJA/> Four years later, the synagogue was renovated with support from the government and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The president of Georgia at the time, Eduard Shevardnadze, attended the re-dedication ceremony.<ref name=":0" />

On September 2, 2015, the congregation celebrated the 120th anniversary of the synagogue's establishment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/event/120th-anniversary-oni-synagogue |title=120th anniversary Oni synagogue |work=Jewish Heritage Europe |language=en-US |access-date=2018-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825233516/http://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/event/120th-anniversary-oni-synagogue/ |archive-date=2018-08-25 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Irakli Garibashvili, the Prime Minister at the time, attended the ceremony.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.jta.org/2015/08/21/news-opinion/world/georgian-pm-to-attend-anniversary-of-countrys-oldest-synagogue-120 |title=Georgian PM to attend anniversary of country’s oldest synagogue, 120 |date=August 21, 2015 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://bpi.ge/georgia-israel-celebrate-120th-anniversary-of-oni-synagogue/ |title=Georgia-Israel celebrate 120th anniversary of Oni Synagogue |date=September 3, 2015 |work=Business Political Insights |access-date=April 28, 2018 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124354/http://bpi.ge/georgia-israel-celebrate-120th-anniversary-of-oni-synagogue/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Georgia had 250,000 Jews who belonged to an ancient community spanning thousands of years. The community had endemic customs including special prayer styles. In the 1970s and 1990s, the majority of the Jewish population moved, primarily to Israel, and only a few thousand remained in Georgia.<ref name=":0" /> In 1972, the synagogue had 3,150 congregants<ref name=":1" /> and {{as of|2015|lc=on}} the number of congregants was 16.<ref name=":0" />

== Notable members == * Rabbi David Baazov, leading Zionist<ref name=CGJE>{{Cite web |url=https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/georgia/north-of-georgia/oni/ |title=Oni |date=n.d. |work=The Cultural Guide to Jewish Europe |access-date=June 21, 2024}}</ref> * Gerzel Baazov, writer, activist, and son of Rabbi Baazov<ref name=CGJE/> == See also == {{stack|{{portal|Judaism|Georgia}}}} * History of the Jews in Georgia

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons cat-inline|Oni synagogue}} * {{cite web |url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn49754 |title="One Day in the Life of Oni" documentary film |work= |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |date=1996 |access-date=21 June 2024 |format=videocassette (Betacam SP) }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oni synagogue}} Category:1800s establishments in Georgia (country) Category:19th-century synagogues in Europe Category:Buildings and structures in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Category:Eclectic architecture Category:Jewish organizations established in the 1800s Category:Moorish Revival architecture in Georgia (country) Category:Moorish Revival synagogues Category:Synagogues in Europe Category:Synagogues completed in 1895 Category:Synagogues in Georgia (country) Category:Synagogues in Asia Category:19th-century synagogues in Asia