Ancient Samaritan Sect, Straddling Israel And Palestine, Celebrates Passover On WestBank Hilltop [View all]

Sophia Jones

MOUNT GERIZIM, West Bank -- The chants and prayers of hundreds of men echoed Saturday night from the top of a West Bank hill nestled next to a Jewish settlement and above the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Those praying were neither Jewish nor Muslim, but instead, Samaritan -- members of a tiny, ancient religious community who say they descended from the original Israelites who split from Judaism over 2,000 years ago. The Samaritans are mentioned in the Christian scriptures, which depict Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well and include a parable commonly referred to as "the good Samaritan."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/03/ancient-samaritan-sect-passover_n_7198072.html?utm_hp_ref=religion&ir=Religion