Editing Samaritans (section)

== Demographics ==
=== Figures ===
[[File:Shomroni tora2.jpg|thumb|upright|A Samaritan and the Samaritan Torah]]

There were 1&nbsp;million Samaritans in biblical times,{{sfn|Barbati|2013}} but in recent times the numbers are smaller. There were 100 in 1786 and 141 in 1919,{{sfn|SamUp|2022}} then 150 in 1967.{{sfn|Barbati|2013}} This grew to 745 in 2011, 751 in 2012, 756 in 2013, 760 in 2014, 777 in 2015, 785 in 2016, 796 in 2017, 810 in 2018 and 820 in 2019.{{sfn|SamUp|2022}} The Samaritan community dropped in numbers during the various periods of Muslim rule in the region. The Samaritans could not rely on foreign assistance as much as the Christians did, nor on a large number of [[Jewish diaspora|diaspora]] immigrants as did the Jews. The once-flourishing community declined over time, either through emigration or [[conversion to Islam]] among those who remained.{{sfn|Ehrlich|2022|p=33}}[[File:Aabed-El ben Asher.png|thumb|The current Samaritan High Priest: "Aabed El Ben Asher Ben Matzliach", 133rd generation since Elazar the Son of Aaron The Priest, from the line of Ithamar. In priestly office 2013–present.]]Today, half reside in modern homes at Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim, which is sacred to them, and the rest in Holon.{{sfn|Friedman|2007}}{{sfn|Rosenblatt|2002}} There are also four Samaritan families residing in [[Binyamina-Giv'at Ada]], [[Matan, Israel|Matan]], and [[Ashdod]]. As a small community physically divided between neighbors in a hostile region, Samaritans have been hesitant to overtly take sides in the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]], fearing that doing so could lead to negative repercussions. Samaritans who are Israeli citizens are drafted into the military, along with the Jewish citizens of Israel.
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Samaritans praying during Passover holiday ceremony on mount Grizim.jpg|thumb|Samaritans celebrating Passover on Mount Gerizim in the West Bank]]
Relations of Samaritans with [[Israeli Jews]], [[Islam in Palestine|Muslim]] and [[Palestinian Christians|Christian Palestinians]] in neighboring areas have been mixed. Samaritans living in both Israel and in the West Bank have [[Israeli citizenship law|Israeli citizenship]].

Samaritans in the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]]-ruled territories are a minority in the midst of a Muslim majority. They had a reserved seat in the [[Palestinian Legislative Council]] in the [[1996 Palestinian general election|election of 1996]], but they no longer have one. Samaritans living in the West Bank have been granted [[passport]]s by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

=== Community survival ===
{{see also|Cousin marriage in the Middle East}}

One of the biggest problems facing the community today is the issue of continuity. With such a small population, divided into only four families or houses (Cohen, Tsedakah, Danafi, and Marhiv, with the Matar family dying out in 1968),{{sfn|Tsedaka|2018}}{{efn|A process of [[Segmentary lineage|segmentation]] has slightly multiplied this number {{harv|Schreiber|2014|pp=164–167}}.}} and a general refusal to accept converts, it is common for Samaritans to marry within their extended families, even first cousins. There has been a history of [[genetic disorder]]s within the group due to the small [[gene pool]]. To counter this, the Holon Samaritan community has allowed men from the community to marry non-Samaritan (primarily Israeli Jewish) women, provided that the women agree to follow Samaritan religious practices. There is a six-month trial period before officially joining the Samaritan community to see whether this is a commitment that the woman would like to take. This often poses a problem for the women, who are typically less than eager to adopt the strict interpretation of biblical (Levitical) laws regarding [[menstrual cycle|menstruation]], by which they must live in a separate dwelling during their periods and after [[childbirth]]. There have been a few instances of [[interfaith marriage|intermarriage]]. In addition, all marriages within the Samaritan community are first approved by a [[geneticist]] at [[Sheba Medical Center|Tel HaShomer Hospital]], in order to prevent the spread of genetic disorders. In meetings arranged by "[[mail-order bride|international marriage agencies]]",{{sfn|Patience|2007}} a small number of women from [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]] who agree to observe Samaritan religious practices have been allowed to marry into the Qiryat Luza Samaritan community in an effort to expand the gene pool.{{sfn|Ferguson|2013}}{{sfn|Nammari|2013}} [[Polygamy]] is reported to have been practiced among Samaritans up until sometime in the 19th century. Today it is practically unheard of, due to the low availability of women and, among those Samaritans living within Israeli territory, it being illegal.{{sfn|Schreiber|2014}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=J.E.H. |title=The Samaritans: Their Testimony to the Religion of Israel |page=138 |year=1919 |publisher=Oliver and Boyd}}</ref>{{sfn|Crown|1989|p=660}}

The Samaritan community in Israel also faces demographic challenges as some young people leave the community and convert to Judaism. A notable example is Israeli television presenter [[Sofi Tsedaka]], who has made a documentary about her leaving the community at age 18.{{sfn|Steinberg|2017}}

The head of the community is the Samaritan High Priest, who is the 133rd generation since Ithamar, a son of Aaron the priest's line from 1624&nbsp;CE onward; before then, the line of priesthood went through Elazar, son of Aaron the priest.{{sfn|The Samaritans High Priests}} The current high priest is [[Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach]] who assumed the office on 19 April 2013. The High Priest of every generation is selected by the eldest in age from the priestly family and resides on Mount Gerizim.<ref>Leviticus 21:10</ref>

=== Samaritan origins of Palestinian Muslims in Nablus and its vicinity ===
Much of the local [[Palestinians|Palestinian population]] of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam.{{sfn|Ireton|2003}}{{sfn|Ben Zvi|1985|p=8}} Traditions of Samaritan ancestry were also recorded in villages in the vicinity, such as [[Hajjah, Qalqilya|Hajjah]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Erlich (Zhabo) |first1=Ze’ev H. |last2=Rotter |first2=Meir |date=2021 |title=ארבע מנורות שומרוניות בכפר חג'ה שבשומרון |trans-title=Four Samaritan Menorahs from the village of Hajjeh, Samaria |url=https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/ihd/2021/11/24/%d7%99%d7%a7%d7%91-%d7%aa%d7%aa%d6%be%d7%a7%d7%a8%d7%a7%d7%a2%d7%99-%d7%9e%d7%aa%d7%a7%d7%95%d7%a4%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%96%d7%9c-2-%d7%91%d7%97%d7%95%d7%a8%d7%91%d7%aa-%d7%90%d7%9c%d6%be-2/ |journal=במעבה ההר |volume=11 |issue=2 |publisher=Ariel University Publishing |pages=188–204 |doi=10.26351/IHD/11-2/3|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Even today, certain Nabulsi family names such as Al-Amad, Al-Samri, Maslamani, Yaish, and Shakhsheer among others, are associated with Samaritan ancestry.{{sfn|Ireton|2003}}{{sfn|Yousef|Barghouti|2005}} The Yaish family of Nablus, for example, is said to be descended from the Samaritan Mitawiyah family of the Tribe of Manasseh, founded by Mitwayyah, who himself descended from Magged, a person who lived in the 7th century.<ref>{{Citation |last=Tsedaka |first=Benyamim |title=Samaritan Israelite Families and Households that Disappeared |date=2010-04-23 |work=Samaritans – Past and Present |pages=223 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110212839.5.221/html |access-date=2024-03-06 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110212839.5.221 |isbn=978-3-11-021283-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to the historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted due to persecution under various Muslim rulers, and because the monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it.{{sfn|Ireton|2003}} During the Abbasid period, economic hardships, social disorder, and pressure from Muslim attackers, drove many Samaritans to convert to Islam.<ref name=":1" /> Later, the [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]] Edict issued by the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] in 1021, ordering Jews and Christians in the [[Southern Levant]] to convert to Islam or leave, along with another forced conversion by the rebel ibn Firāsa,{{sfn|Levy-Rubin|2000|pp=257–276}} hastened the Samaritans' rapid decline and nearly led to their extinction as a distinct religious community. The Samaritans themselves describe the Ottoman period as the worst period in their modern history, as many Samaritan families were forced to convert to Islam during that time.{{sfn|Yousef|Barghouti|2005}} As a result, the Samaritans decreased from nearly a million and a half<ref name=toi/> in late Roman (Byzantine) times to 146 people by the end of the Ottoman period.

Samaritan historian Benyamim Tsedaka noted that many Samaritans who converted to Islam retained their original surnames, passing them on to future generations. Consequently, in most villages with names of Hebrew origin, but altered by Arabic pronunciation, Arab families still bear the surnames of their Samaritan ancestors. In Nablus itself, he notes, some Muslims openly acknowledge their Samaritan ancestry. For instance, in 1968, [[Fatah]] militant Naser Sharshir suggested the possibility of having Samaritan blood in his lineage, tracing back to his great-grandfather.<ref>{{Cite web |last=צדקה |first=בנימין |date=1968-09-30 |title=דם שומרוני – ומשפחות מוסלמיות |url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/mar/1968/09/30/01/article/148 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=www.nli.org.il {{!}} מעריב |language=he}}</ref>

In 1940, Israeli historian and future president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi wrote an article in which he stated that two thirds of the residents of Nablus and the surrounding neighboring villages were of Samaritan origin.{{sfn|Ben Zvi|1985|p=8}} He mentioned the name of several Palestinian Muslim families as having Samaritan origins, including the Al-Amad, Al-Samri, Buwarda and Kasem families, who protected Samaritans from Muslim persecution in the 1850s.{{sfn|Ben Zvi|1985|p=8}} Additionally, he wrote that these families had written records testifying to their Samaritan ancestry, which were maintained by their priests and elders.{{sfn|Ben Zvi|1985|p=8}}