Editing Samaritans (section)

{{Short description|Ethnoreligious group native to the Levant}}
{{About|the ethnoreligious group|their religion|Samaritanism|the confederation of ancient Iranian peoples|Sarmatians|7=Samaritan (disambiguation)}}

{{use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Samaritans
| native_name      = {{nobold|{{lang|smp|{{Script|Samr|ࠔࠌࠓࠉࠌ}}|rtl=yes}}<br />{{lang|he|שומרונים|rtl=yes}}<br />{{lang|ar|السامريون|rtl=yes}}}}
| native_name_lang = smp
| image            = [[File:Samaritans marking Passover on Mount Gerizim, West Bank - 20060418.jpg|300px]]
| image_caption    = Samaritans marking [[Passover (Samaritan holiday)|Passover]] on [[Mount Gerizim]], near modern [[Nablus]] and ancient [[Shechem]], 2006
| population       = ≈900 (2024)
| total_ref        ={{Sfn|SamUp|2022}}
| region1          = {{flag|Israel}} ([[Holon]])
| pop1             = 460 (2021)
| region2          = {{flagdeco|Palestine}} [[West Bank]]{{efn|Samaritan residents in the [[West Bank]] have dual citizenship under the [[Palestinian National Authority]] {{harv|Sabella|2011|p=75, n.4}}.}} ([[Kiryat Luza]])
| pop2             = 380 (2021)
| ref2             ={{Sfn|SamUp|2022}}
| languages        = '''Spoken:'''<br />[[Modern Hebrew|Israeli Hebrew]] and [[Levantine Arabic]]<br />'''Liturgy:'''<br />[[Samaritan Hebrew]] and [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]]
| religions        = [[Samaritanism]]
| related_groups   = [[Jews]] and other [[Semitic languages#Semitic-speaking peoples|Semitic-speaking peoples]]
}}
{{Samaritanism}}
{{Contains special characters}}

'''Samaritans''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|m|ær|ɪ|t|ən|z}}; {{nowrap|[[Samaritan Hebrew]]: {{Lang|smp|{{Script|Samr|ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ}}|rtl=yes}}}} {{Transliteration|smp|Šā̊merīm}}; {{langx|he|שומרונים}} {{Transliteration|he|Šōmrōnīm}}; {{langx|ar|السامريون}} {{Transliteration|ar|as-Sāmiriyyūn}}), are an [[ethnoreligious group]] originating from the [[Hebrews]] and [[Israelites]] of the [[ancient Near East]].{{sfn|Shen|Lavi|Kivisild|Chou|2004|pp=825–826, 828–829, 826–857}} They are indigenous to [[Samaria]], a historical region of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]] that comprises the northern half of what is today referred to as the [[West Bank]]. They are adherents of [[Samaritanism]], an [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]], [[monotheistic]], and [[ethnic religion]] that developed alongside [[Judaism]].

According to their tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the Israelites who, unlike the [[Ten Lost Tribes]] of the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel]], were not subject to the [[Assyrian captivity]] after the northern [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] was destroyed and annexed by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] around 720 BCE. Regarding the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]] as the unaltered [[Torah]], the Samaritans view the [[Jews]] as close relatives but claim that Judaism fundamentally alters the original Israelite religion. The most notable theological divide between Jewish and Samaritan doctrine concerns the world's holiest site, which the Jews believe is the [[Temple Mount]] in [[Jerusalem]] and which Samaritans believe is [[Mount Gerizim]] near modern [[Nablus]] and ancient [[Shechem]].<ref>Deuteronomy 16:6 (Samaritan Version) "Has Chosen"</ref>{{sfn|UNESCO|2017}} Both Jews and Samaritans assert that the [[Binding of Isaac]] occurred at their respective holy sites, identifying them as [[Moriah]]. The Samaritans attribute their schism with the Jews to [[Eli (biblical figure)|Eli]], who was a [[High Priest of Israel]] around the 11th century BCE; in accordance with Samaritan beliefs, he is accused of establishing a religious shrine in [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]] in opposition to the establishment of the original shrine on Mount Gerizim.

Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the [[Samaritan revolts]], which were brutally suppressed by the [[Byzantine Empire]] in the 6th century. Their numbers were further reduced by [[Christianization]] under the Byzantines and later by [[Islamization]] following the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Arab conquest of the Levant]].{{sfn|Levy-Rubin|2000|pp=257–276}} In the 12th century, the Jewish explorer and writer [[Benjamin of Tudela]] estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]].{{sfn|Crown|Pummer|Tal|1993|pp=70–71}}

{{As of|2024|post=,}} the Samaritan community numbers around 900 people, split between [[Israel]] (some 460 in [[Holon]]) and the [[West Bank]] (some 380 in [[Kiryat Luza]]).<ref name="update">{{Cite web |title=The Samaritan Update: An Internet Newsletter & Archive Regarding the Samaritan-Israelites|url=http://www.thesamaritanupdate.com/ |access-date=8 April 2024 |date=4 March 2024 |quote=The Samaritans call themselves  Bene-Yisrael "Children of Israel", or Shamerim "Observant Ones"}}</ref> The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak [[South Levantine Arabic|Levantine Arabic]], while those in Holon primarily speak [[Modern Hebrew|Israeli Hebrew]]. For liturgy they also use [[Samaritan Hebrew]] and [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]], both of which are written in the [[Samaritan script]]. According to Samaritan tradition, the position of the community's leading [[Samaritan High Priest]] has continued without interruption over the course of the last 3,600 years, beginning with the Hebrew prophet [[Aaron]]. Since 2013, the 133rd Samaritan High Priest has been [[Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach]].

In censuses, [[Israeli law]] classifies the [[Religion in Israel|Samaritans as a distinct religious community]]. However, [[Rabbinic literature]] rejected the Samaritans' [[Halakha|Halakhic Jewishness]] because they refused to renounce their belief that Mount Gerizim was the historical holy site of the Israelites.{{efn|[[Minor tractate|Tractate Kutim]] 2:8: "They can only be accepted if they renounce Mount Gerizim, and recognize Jerusalem and the resurrection of the dead." {{harv|Stern|2018|p=105}}}} All Samaritans in both Holon and Kiryat Luza are Israeli citizens, but those in Kiryat Luza also hold [[Palestinian Authority|Palestinian citizenship]].

Around the world, there are significant and growing numbers of communities, families, and individuals who, despite the fact that they are not part of the Samaritan community, identify with and observe the tenets and traditions of the Samaritans' ethnic religion. The largest community outside the Levant, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of [[Brazil]] (generally known as neo-Samaritans worldwide), has approximately 3,000 members {{as of|February 2020|lc=yes}}.{{sfn|Tsedaka|2015}}{{sfn|ISII: Keepers}}