Who are the Samaritans and why is their future uncertain?

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Who are the Samaritans and why is their future

uncertain?
Business and finance | Oct 23rd, 12:14

Who are the Samaritans and why is their future uncertain?

THIS week millions of Jews are celebrating Sukkot, a week-long Jewish holiday commemorating
an ancient pilgrimage linked to the harvest. It is a time to relax, see family and eat good food. Jews
are not the only ones to indulge. Some 800 Samaritans, dotted around Israel and the West Bank,
also join in. Most people only know Samaritans from a bit part in the Bible, or as a charity for the
emotionally vulnerable. So who are the Samaritansand why are their numbers dwindling?

That Samaritans celebrate Sukkot hints at their origins. Like Jews, they trace their lineage to
Abraham. But the enslavement of the Jews by theBabylonians complicated matters. The
Samaritans claim that, after returning from Babylon, Jews forgot their early customs. For centuries
a healthy number of Samaritans, who consider themselves distinct from Jews, fought to preserve
them. Several hundred thousand Samaritans lived in the Holy Land at the time of Christ. But a war
with the Byzantines, between 529 AD and 531 AD, decimated their population. The subsequent
arrival of Islam depleted their numbers further; most ethnic Samaritans are now pious Muslims.

For those few Samaritans who endure, protecting pre-captivity traditions is central to their culture.

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Who are the Samaritans and why is their future uncertain?

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They use a spindly, antique version of the Hebrew script. They sacrifice animals, something Jews
gave up centuries ago. And because it hosted an older Jewish temple, Mount Gerizim, near the
Palestinian town of Nablus, is held by Samaritans to be holier than Jerusalem. These unique
religious practices have proven useful politically. Samaritans can claim Israeli citizenship. They
serve in the Israeli army. But their disinterest in Jerusalem means they shun aspects of Zionism.
We want East Jerusalem for Palestine, and West Jerusalem for Israel, says Hosni Cohen, a
Samaritan priest. This has made coexistence with local Palestinians easier. In the Samaritan village
of Kiryat Luza, on Mount Gerizim, shopkeepers happily sell beer and arak to both thirsty
Palestinians and Jewish settlers. Language also helps: many Samaritans can shift gracefully
between Arabic and Hebrew.

Samaritan attempts to distinguish themselves from both Jews and Palestinians makes sense given
the febrile politics of the region. But it can also cause problems. As of 2015, only 777 Samaritans
remain. Their gene pool is dangerously shallow. Young Samaritans have converted to Judaism in
order to marry, since the religion prohibits unions with outsiders. Moreover, becoming a Samaritan
is a big commitment. Samaritan women, for instance, have to remain isolated for days at a time
during their periods. Attracting converts is therefore a struggle. All this puts the survival of the
religion at risk. The Samaritans are not blind to these difficulties. Women from Ukraine have been
converted and imported to deepen the gene pool. There are also plans to build a new museum of
Samaritanism to promote interest in the religion. Yet more will need to be done if the Samaritans
are to remain more than a half-remembered parable.

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