Samaritan marriage - 05 Oct 07

For centuries the Samaritans, an ancient Jewish community, have observed a strict code of inter-marriage to preserve its traditions.

But a shortage of women and genetic diseases have forced them to start marrying outsiders.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland went to Mount Gerizim in the West Bank, where half the world's Samaritans live.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• samaritan
• marriage
• jews
• jewish
• aljazeera
• jack
• rowland

[hagolan]

of course they are not jewish. they are israelites but not jews - being descendants of ephraym, not yehuda. but still we belong to the same people (israel) and worship the same g-d. so whe are brothers.

[Greyshark09]

Samaritans themselves claim they are not Judean, but Israelite tribes of Yosef's sons.

[raanan111]

@every1hatesitschrisc Well, a good way to test this is to see if they employ "eye for an eye" literally as Muslims do, but JEWS don't BECAUSE of the Talmud.

[hahistorion]

@raanan111

carefully guarded talmud...lol

you mean the hodgepodge of legend, superstitions, confused traditions and no consensus on anything?

[hahistorion]

@raanan111

i am against the talmud and for many reasons.

[hahistorion]

@raanan111

some tannaim held they were gerey emet.

most of them are not fom assyria but natives who never left the land.

[hahistorion]

@rafvrab

wha??????????

[psmx7]

Why would they need a ukrainian wife? Palestinian women are not good enough? Samaritans are just Palestinian jews, so they should marry a palestinian muslim or christian women, if they want to suvive.

[nesikhaNofret]

why ukraine...lol this is sad.

[ZviJ1]

Shalom,

No Arab empire created their existence, if that's what you call the eastrrn Semitic Assyrians... (The Arabs are considered southern Semites.)

[ZviJ1]

Indeed a Beta Yisra'el Get is unacceptable by Halakha, yet were strict in guarding against intermarrige. They didn't marry outside the Jewish community at all.

You'd have the same issue with Qaraite Jews though and in both cases I dissent.

I apologize for dubbing you racist; you were showing loyalty to Halakha and I misclassified your stand.

The 2004 Shen et al. study (and possibly subsequent ones) did find "our" DNA in the Shomronim. You can find & read this study on the internet.

[ZviJ1]

Oh...If you wish to call the Judahite version (vs. Northern Kingdom's) of Israelitism prior to the 2nd Temple Judaism, suit yourself. This isn't a point worth bickering over from my POV.

Before the 2nd Temple there were zero rabbinical decrees and ordinances. This is historical fact, just as the Rabbis were preceded by the Pharisees that wouldn't appear until 199 BCE at the earliest. If you can't come to terms with these givens of history, we've got nothing to discuss in that niche