How many Karaites are there in Israel?

Karaites still exist today. The community in Israel is estimated at more than 30,000 and is concentrated around Ashdod and Ramla. Some small communities exist outside Israel; many of those residing in eastern Europe consider themselves ethnically distinct from other Karaite Jews.

How many Karaites are there in the world?

Today, the total number of Karaites is quite small, with estimates ranging up to 35,000 worldwide. The largest concentration is in Israel; most of them are either immigrants who left Egypt starting in the sixties, a small but cohesive community of several hundred Egyptian Karaites settled in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What happened to the Karaites?

Following the United Arab Republic’s participation in the Six-Day War, all Jewish men in Egypt were placed in camps, and were kept there for up to two years; Karaites were among the last to leave; most of Egypt’s Karaite Jews settled in Israel.

How do Karaites keep Shabbat?

As with other Jews, during Shabbat, Karaites attend synagogues to worship and to offer prayers.

What religion did the Samaritans follow?

The Samaritan religion, also known as Samaritanism, is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion of the Samaritan people. The Samaritans adhere to the Samaritan Torah, which they believe is the original, unchanged Torah, as opposed to the Torah used by Jews.

What did Saadia Gaon do?

Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic. Known for his works on Hebrew linguistics, Halakha, and Jewish philosophy, he was a practitioner of the philosophical school known as the “Jewish Kalam” (Stroumsa 2003).

Where is Sura and Pumbedita?

The Jewish sources only concentrate on the area between the main two academies, Pumbedita (modern Fallujah; west of Baghdad) in the north, and Sura in the south. Both academies, as well as Nehardea and Mahuza, are situated between, or in the immediate vicinity of, the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.