| major differences between the two sects. The Samaritans firmly reject the Oral Law and rabbinic teaching whereas the Falashas are eager to be instructed in it. Unlike the Falashas, the Samaritans accept only the five books of Moses but not the whole of the Old Testament. For the Samaritans Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, represents Zion, not Jerusalem, which, in common with all other Jews, the Falashas regard as the Holy City. Despite these heresies, the Government of lsrael accorded the Samaritans full rights under the Law of Return soon after the establishment of the state. The Falashas, with their scrupulous attachment to the whole of the Old Testament, were obliged to wait nearly thirty years before they were granted equal treatment.
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