By Miri
"A certain man
was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers,
who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half
dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw
him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also,
when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he
saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his
wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and
brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he
departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and
said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I
will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think
seemed to be a neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?"
Luke 10:30–35
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Old German woodcutting depicting the parable of the Good Samaritan |
Probably
not only for Christians, the first association of the term
“Samaritan“, is the notion of the “good Samaritan”, a person
who helps others in distress, that has its origin in a parable
recounted by Jesus. But what community this good person actually
originated from and what happened to his succession is usually less
known.
As a small community, Samaritans exist up until today and a Nablus tour will take you to their holiest site, the Mount Gerizim in
the north of the West Bank, where half of approximately 700
Samaritans also still reside.
Samaritans state their
identity as “Israelites”, which means that they do claim the same
origin as the Jews, yet they refuse to be labelled as such. They
consider their worship as the true religion of the ancient
Israelites, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as
opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and
amended religion brought back by those returning from exile.
During
the Byzantine era Samaritans are said to have numbered as many as
1,200,000, with their communities spread over various parts of
Palestine, southern Syria and northern Egypt. Due to mass expulsions
and forced conversions to Islam during the Early Muslim period, their
numbers shrank rapidly and left Nablus as the sole habitation for a
small Samaritan community.
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Group of Samaritans. From a photograph c. 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund |
Towards the end of the Ottoman empire and
especially during the British mandate over Palestine, the situation
of the small and very impoverished community in Nablus started slowly
to improve.
In search of better economic opportunities, one family of
the community decided to settle in Jaffa, at the time one of the
economic centres of the region. This move proved to mark an important
change in the history of the Samaritans as a whole, as it did not
only improve the situation of said family, which eventually led to
them settling down in Holon, now a suburb of Tel Aviv, but brought
the whole community in touch with the new Jewish immigrants. Although
no more severe incidents of hostility between the Samaritans and the
local Muslim communities were recorded since mid 1800, tensions
between the two communities prevailed. The new Jewish immigrants in
turn, looked upon the Samaritans as close relatives, who had somehow
managed to survive in Palestine during the two thousand years of
Diaspora and even started to support them financially. Yitzhak Ben
Zvi, who would later serve as president of the State of Israel, and
who became an important ally of the community wrote during the time:
“How great was the strength of this small and poor tribe, which
stood up to the whole world, and none of the waves of foreign rulers
could uproot it and make it unfaithful to its religion!”
With the
foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Samaritan community
was split between those who had remained in Nablus and those who had
settled down on territory that was now part of the new state. In 1951
the leader of the latter managed to purchase a vacant lot of land
south of Tel Aviv and eventually founded what is now the Samaritan
neighbourhood 'Neve Marke' in Holon.
A law that was subsequently
passed included all Samaritans (including those in Nablus) into the
Law of Return, granted them the possibility to become Israeli
citizens, just like Jews. For the first time in Samaritan history the
community thus lived within an entity that would give them equal
rights and responsibilities with the majority.
The economic situation of the Samaritans in Nablus, now under Jordanian rule, remained difficult
and their relationship with their immediate neighbours continued to
be tensed. The Hashemite King Hussein however, proved to be
benevolent towards the community and succeeded in persuading the
Palestinian owners of the land on Mount Gerizim, the Samaritans' holiest site, to sell the plot,
which was thus transferred over to Samaritan ownership, where it
still remains communal property.
After its victory in the 1967 war, Israel took control over the West Bank,
a notion that was reportedly welcomed by the Samaritan community in Nablus.
Already in the same year the military administration helped to
establish what was later to become Qiryat Luza, a Samaritan
neighbourhood on Mount Gerizim and little by little the community
moved out of their overcrowded and poorly developed quarter in
Nablus.
This development, especially if viewed within the context of
more and more Jewish settlements emerging on the hilltops of the West
Bank, caused anger among the Palestinian population. Being aware of
this, the Samaritans went back to consult with the Nablus
municipality regarding their problems, and relationships started to
improve, with the municipality even starting to help the community
financially. While hitherto regarded as Jews and associated with the
State of Israel, the Palestinian community of Nablus slowly started
to differentiate the Arabic speaking Samaritans from the “real
Israelis”.
This development was greatly aided by the fact that the
Samaritans found themselves in the unique position of being able to
mediate between the Palestinian residents of Nablus and the Israeli
authorities and they started to intervene on behalf of their direct
neighbours. Although this service was not for free and had to be
repaid in the form of gifts or money, it greatly enhanced the
Samaritans' reputation among the Palestinians of Nablus and finally
ended their social isolation from their immediate environment. The
Israeli authorities were reportedly aware of this arrangement and
gave high priority to the matters that were under Samaritan
mediation.
In order to keep up the good relationships with both sides,
the Samaritans refrained from any direct political involvement or
activity which gained them a reputation of neutrality, which in turn
led to a great improvement of their economic situation.
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Samaritans celebrating the holiday of Shavuot on Mount Gerizim |
With
the outbreak of the 1st
Intifada, however, this position was to be put to great test. Due to
their status as Israeli citizens, the Israeli army was ordered to not
harm Samaritans and to treat them just like Jewish citizens. Yet in
order to not be looked upon as collaborators by the Palestinian
population, the community decided not only to participate in the
struggle, but also to avoid the special privileges given to them by
the army. This translated into putting their lives at risk during
demonstrations, standing in line at checkpoints and subjecting
themselves to the curfews imposed by the army upon the Palestinian
residents.
After a while the price for physically standing between the fire lines became to high and a majority of the Samaritan community of Nablus started to settle down permanently on Mount Gerizim, dividing their lives between their jobs in the city and their quiet homes on the mountain. As one member of the community stated to the Washington Post in 1991: "There, on top of the mountain, is liberty. No Arabs, no soldiers, no rocks, no curfews."
After a while the price for physically standing between the fire lines became to high and a majority of the Samaritan community of Nablus started to settle down permanently on Mount Gerizim, dividing their lives between their jobs in the city and their quiet homes on the mountain. As one member of the community stated to the Washington Post in 1991: "There, on top of the mountain, is liberty. No Arabs, no soldiers, no rocks, no curfews."
Ironically, the problems of being caught in between the two sides only severed with the onset of a possible peace process between Israel and Palestine. The onset of the Oslo Agreements in 1993 and the possibility of a two state solutions brought with it the fear that the communities on Mountain Gerizim and Holon could once more be isolated from each other.
1993 therefore marks the moment when the
community started to engage in political activities, especially in
lobbying for their own cause. Different from other religious
minorities, the Samaritans do not advocate autonomy for themselves,
but rather seek recognition by both sides of their special status as
one indivisible group. The ultimate goal is to acquire a privileged
position among the region's inhabitants, which would ensure them the
freedom to cross a hypothetical Israeli-Palestinian political border
in any given situation.
The (partial) implementation of the Oslo
Agreements did not alter the situation of the Samaritan community
much and their attempt to stay neutral, while at the same time
advocating their own cause continues until today: “Most of the time
we are trying to be neutral, but both sides think that we have the
influence from the other. The Jews say that we are closer to the
Arabs, and the Arabs tell us the opposite”, a young Samaritan
resident of Holon was quoted.
This notion was painfully evidenced in an incident during the 2nd Intifada, when a Samaritan resident of Mount Gerizim on his way home was first ambushed and shot by Palestinian fighters who mistook him for a settler and eventually, after loosing control over his vehicle and ramming through an Israel roadblock, shot a second time by Israeli soldiers who took him for a Palestinian terrorist. As the victim of this incident stated: “This is the short story of our problem.”
What is there to be said about a community that lives in the midst of one of the most protracted conflicts of the world, whose members hold both Israeli and Palestinian citizenship, and who are expected to serve in the Israeli army, while at the same time having a seat reserved in the Palestinian Legislative council?
The fate of the Samaritan community is as unclear as the future of the whole region and one can only hope that this small and steadfast community will succeed in preserving their own unique identity, while at the same time acting as a self-proclaimed “bridge to peace”.
This notion was painfully evidenced in an incident during the 2nd Intifada, when a Samaritan resident of Mount Gerizim on his way home was first ambushed and shot by Palestinian fighters who mistook him for a settler and eventually, after loosing control over his vehicle and ramming through an Israel roadblock, shot a second time by Israeli soldiers who took him for a Palestinian terrorist. As the victim of this incident stated: “This is the short story of our problem.”
Green Olive Tours visits the High Priest in the Samaritan Museum on Mount Gerizim |
The fate of the Samaritan community is as unclear as the future of the whole region and one can only hope that this small and steadfast community will succeed in preserving their own unique identity, while at the same time acting as a self-proclaimed “bridge to peace”.
To
learn more about the Samaritans and to hear their story first hand,
join us on a Nablus tour which will also lead you up to the summit of
the beautiful Mount Gerizim.
Note: This
article is greatly indebted to a thesis written by Stephen Kaufman
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