ISRAELITE SAMARITAN ENTERPRISES SINCE THE 1950s
21 May 2013
Professor Gerhard Wedel of Berlin asks, Benyamim Tsedaka replies:
1. Do Samaritans have, and do they prefer independent entrepreneurship or enterprise?
We have engaged in entrepreneurial activity in order to survive. Naturally, we prefer independent enterprises, for example:
Enterprises In the 1950s
- significantly for us, establishing the second Israelite Samaritan population centre in Holon


Enterprises In the 1960s
- building the first Samaritan synagogue in the State of Israel
- establishing the first Samaritan Newspaper, the bi-weekly magazine A.B The Samaritan News
- establishing youth clubs in Holon, and also in Nablus
- publishing the First Comparative Torah, showing the Jewish (Masoretic) and Samaritan Versions in Hebrew
Enterprises in the 1970s
- setting up official local councils in Holon and Nablus (later moved to Mount Gerizim) by democratic elections
Enterprises In the 1980s
- establishing the Kiriat Luza neighbourhood on Mount Gerizim Visit Kiriat Luza
- then building a large synagogue in Kiriat Luza for the entire community
- establishing the A.B Institute of Samaritan Studies in Holon
- building two Community Centres, one in Holon and another in Kiriat Luza
- establishing basketball teams in Kiriat Luza and also in Holon – the teams play in the Palestinian and Israeli Basketball Associations
- founding the First Ancient Israelite Samaritan Music Choir see MUSIC. Since its establishment the Choir has performed in the USA, Europe, Israel and South East Asia.

Enterprises In the 1990s
- sending a delegation to Saint Petersburg in 1991 to catalogue the 1348 Samaritan Manuscripts of the Firkovitz Collection
- sending a delegation of Samaritan leaders to the Ministry of State in Washington DC, and also to the White House and the Senate to ensure the political future of the Israelite Samaritans
- similarly, establishing contacts with the British Government and Parliament
Enterprises In the 2000s
- founding the Mount Gerizim International Peace Centre
- establishing the Samaritan Medal Foundation
- later, building a small private Museum on Mount Gerizim
- then establishing a second synagogue in Holon
Enterprises In the 2010s
- establishing a Visitor Centre in Kiriat Luza, Mount Gerizim and also helping to establish a National Park on the summit of Mount Gerizim
- developing the Passover sacrifice yard on Mount Gerizim
- publishing the First English Translation of the Israelite Samaritan Torah in parallel with the accepted English Translation of the Jewish (Masoretic) Version
2. What about sports? Because I only know of the Samaritan basketball players.
There are the two basketball teams, and internal summer tournaments of Miniball and Basketball on the sports grounds in both neighbourhoods, and a gym in Kiriat Luza.
Benyamim Tsedaka
Samaritan HISTORY
Choir and MUSIC
Samaritan RELIGION
Samaritan FESTIVALS
Photography: Ori Orhof
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