WEST BANK: Ancient Jewish sect of Samaritans celebrates Passover with prayer at sunrise

Record ID: 561746

  • Title: WEST BANK: Ancient Jewish sect of Samaritans celebrates Passover with prayer at sunrise
  • Date: 25th April 2011
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 10th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA2MDTCBGS72OM0KRDPDYYQGUI3
  • Story Text: Several hundred Samaritans, an ancient Jewish sect, gathered before sunrise on Sunday (April 24) for a special prayer celebrating the second holiday of Passover.
    The Samaritans, or "Keepers of the Law", trace their origins back to the ancient Israelites and many of them reside on Mount Gerizim near the Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus. They are mentioned in the Bible for offering help to Jesus, which draws light upon the widely-used term "Good Samaritan".
    With over 700 rituals distinguishing between Jews and Samaritans, they keep to their own faith and have differentiated themselves from Jews since the 6th century BC.
    Scores of members of the unique community gathered just before sunrise on Sunday for a special mountain top prayer, marking the second holiday of Passover. On April 17th, the Samaritans celebrated the first holiday of Passover with the slaughtering of sheep as a sacrifice offered to God for the holiday.
    Samaritan historians say there were 1.2 million Samaritans 1,400 years ago. Most of them were killed by Byzantine, and in 1917 only 146 were left.
    Most of the 630 community members reside in the shadow of what they believe is a sacred site in the West Bank -- on Mount Gerizim. The rest of the community lives in the central Israeli city of Holon. During the seven-day Passover holiday, all Samaritans sleep and live in flats they hold on their holy mountain. According to Samaritan belief, Mount Gerizim is the location of the binding of Issac and the Jewish temple.
    The Samaritans of Nablus consider themselves Palestinians, carrying Palestinian identity cards and passports. Some were given Israeli identity cards, while others hold Jordanian passports.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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