A distinct religious and ethnic community who believes in an ancient Israelite religion that is distinct from Judaism. While, like Jews, Samaritans consider the Five Books of Moses to be the word of God and their sacred scripture, they reject the remainder of Judaic scripture. The Samaritans consider Mt. Gerizim, located just outside the
West Bank city of Nablus, their holiest site. As of May 2014, there were 760 Samaritans in
Israel and the West Bank-about half living on Mt. Gerizim and the other half in the town of Holon in central Israel. Samaritans typically speak both Hebrew and Arabic, and are considered in various ways part of both
Israeli and
Palestinian society. See
The Samaritan Update.