Yoseph ben Ab-Hisda ben Yaacov ben Aaharon; (1919 – February 14, 1998), served as the

Samaritan High Priest The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest (''kohen gadol'') of the remaining Samaritan community in the Levant. According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been ...

from January 26, 1987 until his death. Prior to inheriting the post of high priest, he worked as a religious teacher and was principal of the Samaritan school. A noted author and scribe like many of his kinsmen, his houses in

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

and on

Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...

were open to visitors from all over the world who sought to understand the Samaritan teachings. As high priest, he sought to follow a policy of non-active involvement—maintaining peaceful relations as far as possible with all factions in the political conflicts of the region. He lived in

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and is buried in the cemetery of

Kiryat Luza Kiryat Luza ( ar, قرية لوزة, he, קרית לוזה) is a Samaritan village situated on Mount Gerizim near the city of Nablus in the West Bank. It is under the joint control of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, and is t ...

. His brothers Aaharon and Yephet survived him, as did his wife, his four children, and seven grandchildren. Both Palestinian and Israeli dignitaries were present at his funeral. He was succeeded as high priest by his second cousin Levi ben Abisha ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq.

References

* ''A. B., The Samaritan News'' 1919 births 1998 deaths Samaritan high priests People from Nablus {{Palestine-reli-bio-stub