The Samaritans, an ancient, isolated Jewish sect whose centers are on Mt. Gerizim overlooking Nablus and in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, were visited by President Chaim Herzog today. He pledged that they would never again be separated from their brethren in Israel.
Herzog was greeted at the rehabilitated synagogue on Mt. Gerizim by a group of Samaritan children. He was escorted by the Great Cohen, the leader of the community and was briefed on aspects of Samaritan religious practices.
The President recalled that the Six-Day War in 1967 ended the separation of the Samaritans on the West Bank from those in Holon. “Whatever the nature of a political settlement between ourselves and our neighbors, I can promise you that never again will you be cut off from your brothers, ” Herzog said.
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