Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Israel Quiz

Answer: Greek Orthodox

The Greek Orthodox bishop of Jerusalem considers himself to be the direct descendant of St. James the Apostle, the first bishop of Jerusalem. There are approximately 60,000 Greek Orthodox Christians in Israel. They pray according to the Byzantine liturgy in Greek, and celebrated their holidays according to the Julian calendar.

Many of the clergy are sent by the Church from Greece to Israel.

Answer: Baha'i

The Baha'i faith was founded in Persia by the Baha'ulla'h, (1817-1892). Baha'i is a monotheistic religion, and believes that "humanity is one single race". The Baha'ulla'h was persecuted in his native Persia and fled, only to be imprisoned by the Ottoman authorities in Acre.

His followers eventually constructed a magnificent copper-domed tomb on a hill in Haifa over-looking the Mediterranean , and later planted a garden consisting of nineteen terraces that descends a full kilometer down the length of the hill, as part of their world headquarters.

There are approximately five million followers of Baha'i living in countries all over the globe. (Information for this question came from the web site of the Baha'i International Community)

Answer: During the Byzantine period

Armenians have lived in Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land for close to a thousand years. Archeologists have uncovered inscriptions in Armenian that can be dated to the Byzantine period, pre-dating even the Crusades. Like the Greek Orthodox Christians, the Armenians use the Julian calendar.

The heart of the Armenian community is the St. James Monastery, located in the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. The library in the monastery houses the second largest collection of Armenian books in the world, and the seminary trains young Armenians for the priesthood. Today, there are fewer than two thousand Armenians living in Israel.

Answer: Islam

A Gypsy community arrived in Jerusalem about one hundred years ago, and settled in the neighborhood known as "Wadi Joz", which lies between Mt. Scopus and the Old City. The "Dom", as they call themselves, later settled in the proximity of the Lion's Gate, within the walls of the Old City. According to their web site, "The Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem",Gypsies generally adopt the religion and language of the local population.

In this case, the Gypsies of Jerusalem became Muslims, and speak Arabic, as well as their own language, known as "Domari".

A small community number only a thousand, the Jerusalem Gypsies are scorned by the local population, uneducated and poor. In 1999 a community leader named Amoun Sleem formed a community organization to improve the life of the "Domari". You can read about this small but fascinating ethnic group on their web site, "The Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem".

Answer: The Caucasus Mountains

The Circassians are Muslims who originally came from the north Caucasus Mountains. Following a war against Russia that lasted for almost a hundred years(from the mid Eighteenth century to the middle of the Nineteenth), they were exiled from the homeland, and some of them eventually settled in the Mid-East.

In Israel the Circassians live in two villages in the Galilee, Kfar Kama and Rehaniya, and number about three thousand people. Despite their small size, the Circassians are recognized as an independent community, and maintain their own language.

Answer: They live exclusively in the desert (Negev and Arava)

The word "Bedouin" carries a certain romantic, mysterious connotation, but the actual life of modern Bedouin is often far from glamorous. The Israeli Bedouin are a society in transition from a traditional, semi-nomadic society to a settled, urban life-style, though the change is often not their choice.

Many Bedouin continue to practice polygamy, although this is against Israeli law. Recent research carried out at the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheba reveals that both the man and the wives are unhappy in these marriages, but the practice is such a traditional part of their culture that they find it difficult to put an end to it. Bedouin men, unlike other Israeli Arabs, serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, often as trackers.

While Bedouin are associated with the desert, and a great many Israeli Bedouin live in Negev and Arava, they can be found in many other places in Israel.

There is a Bedouin community in Galilee , as well as one on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, on the road leading to Jericho.

As a matter of fact, there is a Bedouin family that camps out near the tel in Beit Shemesh where I live - I can see their tent from our window!

Answer: True

Those of you familiar with the New Testament Parable of the Good Samaritan might be pleased to learn that there is still a Samaritan community in the Holy Land. The community is quite small - numbering about 700 members, and divided between two cities.

Some of the Samaritan live in Kiryat Luza, near the Samaritan holy site of Mt. Gerizim, on the outskirts of Nablus in the Palestinian Authority. The rest of the community is located in Holon, a suburb of Tel Aviv. The entire Samaritan community consists of four families, and due to inter-marriage over many generations, they are plagued with genetic disease.

Answer: They accept only the written law (Torah) and the not the oral law (Talmud)

The Karaite tradition developed in eighth century Iraq. The Karaites reject the Talmud, or Oral Law, and base their religious belief and practice strictly on what is written in Bible. As a result, their customs are quite different from mainstream Judaism. For instance, while they do not eat non-kosher foods like pork or shrimp, they do not separate dairy foods from meat, as other Jews do.

Their Sabbath observance and their calendar are also quite different. About 30,000 Karaites live in Israel today, primarily in the coastal city of Ashdod.

In addition, there are Karaite communities in other places around the world. (Information for this question came from the December 1999 bulletin of the Jewish Community of North California.)

Answer: Chicago, USA

The Black Hebrews are a group of African-Americans from Chicago, who arrived in Israel via Liberia in 1969, under the direction of their charismatic leader, Ben Ammi Ben-Israel. Claiming that they were the genuine descendants of the tribe of Judah, the Black Hebrews were originally greeted with suspicion by Israeli authorities. Over time both sides have mellowed, and in 2003 the two-thousand plus members of the community were finally granted permanent residency visas.

The Black Hebrews have a kibbutz where they produce organic soy products, and they maintain a vegan restaurant in Tel Aviv. Members of the community are also involved in the music industry, and have represented Israel twice in the Eurovision song contest. (Information for this question came from the Israel Foreign Ministry web site.)

Answer: The Druze community actively seeks new converts

The Druze number approximately 104,000 souls in Israeli, or 1.6 percent of the population. Their faith was established towards the end of the eleventh century. While the Druze faith views itself as the continuation of the three great monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), it also contains elements of Greek and Hindu philosophy.

The Druze reject religious ritual and ceremony, which they believe diverts the believer from "pure belief". However, most elements of the Druze religion are kept secret.

The Druze faith is closed, and they do not accept converts. Culturally, the Druze consider themselves Arabs, and speak Arabic. In Israel, the Druze are recognized as an independent group, and as such are entitled to maintain their own courts for matters regarding personal status, such as marriage and divorce. Druze men serve in the Israeli army, and have a reputation as fine soldiers. (Information for this question comes from the Jewish Virtual Library.)