The Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 1967 Page: 12 of 115
one hundred fifteen pages : ill. ; page 15 x 10 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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NEW YEAR GREETINGS
THE UNCOMMON TOUCH
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Mr. and Mrs. Morris Catchman
All terms available
JA 9-7527
PAGE 8
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there will be changes, and that the
Israeli Government will certainly
understand the situation and have
them restored. The heads of the
Samaritan community have dis-
cussed the situation already with
representatives of the Israel Min-
istry of Religious Affairs and
soon there is to be an on the spot
investigation. Accompanied by the
former Herzlia student, Abram
Ben Zvulun and Avad Hanuna,
who is a road inspector with the
Ministry of Public Works, we set
off to see for ourselves what had
happened at the village.
The road to Aworta turns into
a side road which borders a de-
stroyed Jordanian military camp.
J
hint they give is “it’s not worth
it,” and if you understand what
they are getting at, good and well.
Throughout the years they kept
in contact with their families in
Israel and every year they met
those whom the Jordanians allow-
ed to cross to Mount Grizin to
celebrate the Samaritan Passover.
They speak Arabic among them-
selves, but also get by in a gut-
tural pidgeon English. One of
them, Abram Ben Zvulun speaks
a good Hebrew and he explained:
“I studied at the Herzlia Gym-
nasia and in 1938 I worked as a
clerk at the Tel Aviv court.”
Life in Nablus was not easy
for the Samaritans. The Jordan-
ians allowed them to worship at
Mount Grizin, but the other holy
places suffered, particularly dur-
ing the past ten years.
Ancient tombs were destroyed.
They are situated in the village of
Aworta, about seven kilometres
south of Nablus, and’ were re-
garded as the traditional burial
places of Priest Elazar Ben
Aharon; of his brother Itamar
Ben Aharon; of Pinchas Ben Ala-
zar and of the rest of the family
of Moses’ brother, Aharon. “The
Arabs demolished the tomb of
Pinchas Ben Alazar and built a
mosque. The tombs of Itamar Ben
Aharon and Elazar Ben Aharon
were destroyed. We had a big
prayer house to which we would
go every year after the Feast of
Passover, stay there for a few
weeks and pray. Now it has gone.
Eight years ago the Arabs de-
stroyed the tomb and left it in
ruins.”
But now the Samaritans hope
The two hundred and forty
Samaritans at Nablus have been
having “one great big celebra-
tion,” said their High Priest,
Amram Ben Yitzhak. Since Nab-
lus was liberated by the Israel De-
fense Forces, some two or three
hundred Israelis have visited every
day and have received a warm
welcome. The home of the head
of the community has been like a
railway station, with a dozen men
and women taking turns to serve
cups of coffee to the guests.
“Never mind,” said the High
Priest, “may the Lord be blessed
that you are here . . . and with the
Lord’s help you will stay.” He
smiled good naturedly and raised
his hands, palms upwards as if he
were about to pray.
The home of the High Priest is
situated on the slopes of a hill on
the route to Mount Grizin, the site
of the Samaritans’ Holy Altar.
All around, each adjoining its
neighbor, are the homes of the
other members of the community.
“We live together like a big fami-
ly,” said the Priest Zadka Ben
_ Yitzhak who is second in line to
the High Priesthood. The two men
bear the symbols of their high
position in the community and of
their priestliness — long beards,
cloaks and turbans. The other
Samaritans wear ordinary clothes
and are indistinguishable from
anyone else in Nablus.
“The living here is so so,” they
said, “the community has its
clerks; there are two merchants
and everyone else works as a la-
borer.” But about their life for
19 years under Jordanian rule
they do not want to talk. The only
“As the Israeli forces advanced,”
said the road inspector, “the Jor-
danians retreated along this road.”
He told us that the Jordanians
built many side roads to serve
both the villages and the army.
The route to Aworta continues
south eastwards until it joins the
road to Jericho and to Damia
Bridge, over the River Jordan.
Until June, there were 3000 in-
habitants in the village. Now there
are half as many, the rest having
run away across the Jordan.
The villagers were curious
when our car arrived and the first
man to come towards us was
dressed in pajama trousers and a
vest. He began to look us over and
CHARLOTTE TISH interiors
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White, D. H. The Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 1967, newspaper, October 5, 1967; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1527819/m1/12/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .