Oni Jews inhabited the city in the XVIII century after the annexation of Georgia by Russia. In old times a lot of Jewish families lived there; At some point Oni was the most inhabited Georgian region by Jews. In 1972 the Jewish population was 3500. Despite post-Soviet tendency towards migration, Oni still retains a small number of Jewish families - remnants of once powerful and large historic Jewish communities. Some of Jewish inhabitants are a part of one big family: Abraham and Simon are cousins.