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Does Knowledge Capital affect an Organizations Performance
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTIONOVERVIEW
Knowledge economy has advanced considerably, over the years, consequently forcing organizations to shift their focus from intangible assets to tangible assets, and specifically to human knowledge capital (Bontis, & Fitz-enz, 2002, pg. 231). Tangible assets, in this case, refer to those items that are normally found on a company’s balance sheet, such as machinery, property and plant, to name but a few tangible assets (Chen, Cheng, & Hwang, 2005, pg.163). Apart from people and their expertise, which is essentially what human knowledge capital encompasses, we also have business processes and reputation, customer loyalty, and other market assets, all of which have attracted the attention of today’s corporate managers (Ordónez de Pablos, 2002, pg. 294). Ordinarily, human knowledge capital, together with structural capital and relational capital make up intellectual capital, which is undoubtedly the main factor that is responsible for generating future growth and prosperity, the evidence of which can be found in the fact that it combines with brands, processes, systems, customers and databases to generate corporate competitive advantages for an organization. It is important for us to understand that we are at that point in time when the optimal combination of information, communication and, most importantly, knowledge, is the actual power behind corporate success. This means that the greater the organization’s know-how, the greater its success over its competitors. Moreover, it means that people are at the core of corporate success, thus aligning clearly with the literature on competitive advantage, which is all about people learning, people knowing and people communicating. Without doubt, it is “the decade of the people side” just as the management guru, Wayne Brockbank (2001), stated in one of his numerous past interviews.
Human knowledge capital is staff-dependent, which basically means that it depends almost entirely on: employees’ learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, creativity, loyalty, and motivation, etc. Although it is recognized as a major constituent of intellectual capital, a distinctive feature of human knowledge capital is that it diminishes, the moment employees’ learning, education, coaching, creativity, innovation, experience programs cease (Bontis, 1999). Contrary to human knowledge capital, structural capital resides in the organization, whereby it comprises of organizational infrastructure, and innovative capital to name but a few essential internal assets. However, it is extremely important to note that these infrastructure and other physical assets are nothing, without the input of the employees, of the so-called human knowledge capital. Relational capital, on the other hand, is rooted in relationships that the organization has cultivated with employees, suppliers and customers, relationships that are embodied in features such as the shared paradigm that inculcates a common understanding of shared goals and appropriate ways of acting, in a social system involving others (Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998). Once again, an organization’s staff or its human knowledge capital is an important component in establishing the type or relationship with suppliers and customers that can guarantee an organization the requisite competitive advantage.
As is the case with relational capital, the theoretical impact of human knowledge capital on an organization’s performance is yet to be exhausted, or fully explored, in the literature. In fact, quantifying correctly this important element (human knowledge capital) is, in itself, a huge challenge for the majority of researchers, in this area. This is despite the importance that is placed on successfully fulfilling the strategic partner role that is thought to exist between the organization and its human knowledge capital. Evidence of this can be found in the findings of a study conducted by ISR, a consulting company involved in employee research and which showed that, although most organizations collect their metrics relating to their respective human knowledge capital, only a small number (less than half) actively evaluate the impact of their human knowledge capital on business performance. It is, however, important to note that a large amount of empirical research is still investigating this particular issue. The purpose of this research study, therefore, is to investigate the impact that an organization’s investment in its staff, namely in their education, learning, coaching, and their creativity, innovation, and associated experiences, all of which, collectively, determine the effect of an organization’s collective human knowledge capital, at any given time, on its overall performance.
Ordinarily, maintenance projects in labor intensive organizations do not provide a high professional knowledge and the corresponding, relevant high-end technologies; nor do managers of such projects, generally, possess the type of cutting-edge professional expertise that is normally found in knowledge-intensive organizations. This, however, is not the case with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH & RC), which is actually very similar to other knowledge-intensive organizations that provide high level professional knowledge and corresponding technologies, together with a huge pool of professional managers with outstanding knowledge in its maintenance projects. Naturally, maintenance projects are knowledge-intensive undertakings for which the human knowledge capital of the staff is of paramount importance (Mayo, 2000, pg. 526). This is, essentially, because knowledge, in itself, is the greatest component in maintenance projects, which therefore requires equally high-caliber management to match the excellent human knowledge capital, especially where its impact on the operations and the overall management of the organization are concerned (Brown, et al., 2007, pg. 81).
1.2 KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE
(KFSH & RC)Located in Saudi’s capital, Riyadh, KFSH & RC is a modern state-of-the-art medical facility, which is undoubtedly the largest in the entire Middle East. A national referral center for organ transplantation, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, genetic diseases and neurosciences, and a provider of a full range of primary, secondary, and tertiary health care services, KFSH & RC is recognized as a major referral center, both nationally and internationally. Among the services that KFSH & RC has pioneered, in the Middle East, are the procedures for marrow and kidney transplantation, cardiovascular and orthopedic surgery, IVF and oncology, etc. KFSH & RC perform a total of approximately 2,000 open-heart surgeries and 6,500 cardiac catheterizations, annually. KFSH & RC’s Research Center focuses on both translational and basic research in transplant immunology, genetics, cancer, cardiovascular conditions, proteomics, and molecular diagnostics. This Research Center has four departments, namely: Cyclotron and Radiopharmaceuticals, Biostatistics; Scientific Computing; and Biomedical Physics. All these services which are offered at KFSH & RC require a maintenance team that is not only highly qualified intellectually, but also up-to-dated on current developments and knowledgeable about the latest tools, equipment and leading technological aids needed to maintain such high-level services. This team comprises of a broad range of professionals of various different nationalities. In fact, a large part of this team is made up of expatriates, with a mere 20% being Saudis. The work of this team no doubt has a decisive impact on the overall performance of the organization. This is better demonstrated by the fact that any unresolved breakdown of vital machines or technological equipment is likely to have an adverse effect on the performance of the medical staff, in general, and therefore on the overall organization (Helen Ziegler and Associates, 2011).
1.3PROBLEM STATEMENT
To date, very little attention has been focused on the study of human knowledge capital in maintenance projects, in medical facilities, such as KFSH & RC (Hubert, 1996, pg. 11). This is despite the fact that KFSH & RC has been performing exceptionally well, as can be seen in its financial performance, over the years. Otherwise, how might one explain its exceptional performance, over the years, especially after the completion of the Cyclotron Section? Arguably, this shows that the financial markets and investors attach considerable value to the learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity, and skills of CEOs and top management, in general (Bontis, 2001, pg. 45). According to a number of recent studies, knowledge and information are subject to increasing returns, which is different from the decreasing returns characteristic of more traditional resources (LeBlanc, et al., 2000, pg. 15). This, therefore, makes knowledge and information much more attractive to corporations, than previously (Combs & Skill, 2003, pg. 67).In this context, therefore, a survey will be conducted, with a view to obtaining a better understanding of the attainment and the status of human knowledge capital development relating to the maintenance project in KFSH & RC. This survey will also enable the author to examine the influence that exists between human knowledge capital and performance, in project management, in this facility.
The traditional metrics of human knowledge capital have, so far, proved incapable of measuring the extent to which human knowledge capital contributes to the economic performance of medical facilities (Chen, Cheng & Hwang, pg. 166). Even the frameworks that have been in use for identifying the major drivers of organizational overall performance are all based on a decade of research, without much modern input (Chen, Cheng & Hwang, pg. 169). They have also, hitherto, been unable to provide the answer as to whether investment in human knowledge capital has a positive or negative influence on the performance of medical facilities.
Although this research study is focused on a maintenance project in medical facilities and KFSH & RC, in particular, it is, however, imperative to note that maintenance projects, by their very nature, are very much knowledge-intensive. This means, therefore, that when conducting any research into maintenance projects, it is essential to understand, from the outset, the potential link that exists between human knowledge capital and the overall performance of an organization, regardless of the industry in question or of the specific maintenance project study being undertaken. Therefore, by exploring the effect that staff training, learning, coaching, and overall creativity, innovation and the experience of the members of staff involved in maintenance projects, it is possible to ascertain the extent of this positive effect on the organization’s overall performance.
1.4STUDY BACKGROUND A broad range of literature, drawn from various sources, on the impact of learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity on an organization’s performance has been looked at, for the purpose of this study. Previous research into the relationship between an organization’s human knowledge capital and its performance have clearly demonstrated that the two are inter-related, with the organization’s performance being firmly based on its intangible assets, such as individual employees’ capabilities and goodwill. However, the existing research does not discuss this relationship, in any great depth. In this respect, previous research has only explored a few aspects of this complex relationship, including features such as commitment and trust, for example. This study aims, therefore, to obtain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of this relationship, drawing on various studies of the human knowledge capital concept in project management. More specifically, the study will analyze the impact of the various dimensions (learning and education, experience and expertise, innovation and creativity) of human knowledge capital on an organization’s performance, before going on to summarize the findings and draw conclusions about the impact of knowledge capital on an organization’s overall performance.
Bontis (1996) pointed to the important role played by production equipment in an organization’s success, during the 20th century, as compared to that of the “knowledge worker” and their corresponding productivity, during the 21st century. Today, knowledge is undoubtedly one of the most essential constituents of modern-day production which therefore places efficient management of the internal dealings of the organization, at the core of business management. Nevertheless, as with any other knowledge-intensive enterprise, it is expected that the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH & RC) maintenance project will still require a huge tranche of intangible assets that will not be mirrored in its financial statement. However, although it might prove difficult to analyze the management of KFSH & RC, in detail, the impact of the knowledge aspects in such projects, e.g. learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity on its personnel is an issue of which KFSH & RC is very much aware. It is, therefore, extremely important for an organization’s managers to discuss how best to manage these knowledge aspects, so that they can improve their performance in project management, as well as the operational performance of the enterprise, in general.
1.4.1 LABOUR ECONOMICS
An ongoing debate in labor economics’ literature on the subject of whether organizations can profit from learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and the creativity of its staff has been raging, for many years. Prior to the introduction of Becker’s theory on the training and education within the organization, the majority of the economists thought of staff training, education, learning, creativity, and innovation as essentially an individual’s investment decision.
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Research Hypotheses for this project is as follow:There is a link between the training, coaching, learning and creativity, innovation and experience of the maintenance staff, who undertook the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011. This applies to the overall performance of KFSH & RC. Training, coaching, learning and the experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity of the members of staff involved in this project refers to the human knowledge capital of KFSH & RC.
1.6 Research Objectives
To examine the link between the learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity of the maintenance staff who undertook the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, and the overall performance of KFSH & RC.
To demonstrate that investment in learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity for the KFSH & RC maintenance staff who undertook the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, had a positive effect on the overall performance of KFSH & RC.
To explore whether investment in human knowledge capital (learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity) is appropriate to the value added to KFSH & RC.
1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONSIs there is a link between the learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity of the KFSH & RC staff who undertook the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, and the overall time performance in a maintenance project and its physical assets?
Did the KFSH & RC investment in the learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity of its maintenance staff who were involved in the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, improve time performance in that particular project and the overall output of the medical facility, in general?
Is the learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity of maintenance staff in the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, appropriate to the value addition for KFSH & RC, in general?
1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research study will focus on the 2011Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, undertaken early last year, within KFSH & RC. It is anticipated that the research findings will contribute towards an explanation of the potential link between human knowledge capital, or investment in staff’s learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity, and an organization’s overall performance, which is a general question that is asked, not only in the context of maintenance projects in the medical industry, but also in all other sectors of the economy. The almost total reliance on human resources or the so-called human knowledge capital in a project of this nature is the specific driving force behind this research study. This is because it brings into focus the suggested link between human knowledge capital and the overall performance of an organization.
1.9 STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Chapter 2 (Literature Review) explores the context in which human knowledge capital is being examined, together with identifying the main elements of the concept (learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity), and its relationship to other complementary types of capital, notably intellectual capital, organizational and social. It will also assess the case for human knowledge capital having an impact on performance, for which evidence is growing, increasingly, while examining mechanisms for measuring staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity (Robinson & Kleiner, 1996, pg. 36). It is from the evidence of this examination that the implied relationship between staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity and organizational performance will be better established.
Chapters 3 and 4 (Methodology: Results and Analysis) examine the third aim of the dissertation by exploring whether investment in staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity has any effect on an organization’s performance.
Chapter 5 (Conclusions) looks, critically, at the research, analyzing the methodology, together with identifying areas for further research.
Chapter 2LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 INTRODUCTION
Today, information and knowledge are the main drivers of global, commercial enterprise, even more so than labor or capital, as was the case, in the past. What this means to managers is that the increased importance of knowledge not only adds an extra variable to the production process, but most importantly, this shift in emphasis has radically changed the rules and dynamic of the business arena, worldwide. This concept is perfectly captured in the opinion of Quinn (1992), where he acknowledged the importance of the manager’s ability to manage the knowledge-based-intellect in today’s business environment. It is also echoed by Savage (1990), when he claimed that the wealth-creating ability of a business will be determined, primarily, by the knowledge and capabilities of its employees. Furthermore, Drucker (1993), the management guru, recognized the emergence of a new economy which he referred to as the “knowledge society”, in reference to the increased significance of knowledge and expertise in today’s corporate environment. Moreover, Drucker argued that, in this so-called “knowledge society”, knowledge (learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity) are not just another resource, alongside the traditional resources of labor, land, and capital, but the only resource that is meaningful, in this time and age.
The body of literature demonstrating the presence of a positive link between the development of knowledge capital or investment in staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity and an organization’s overall performance is becoming more evident, with each passing day. The emphasis on human knowledge capital in an organization emanates from the view that market value depends more on intangible assets and especially on human resources, rather than on tangible resources (Stewart, pg. 16). This does not, however, render staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity as the only driving force in an organization’s performance, but merely a portion of the equation.
2.2 MEDICAL INDUSTRY
Maintenance projects in medical facilities are knowledge-intensive, in nature, precisely because maintenance designs essentially depend on the creativity, learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, creativity and ingenuity of the organization’s staff. This sector has, over the years, grown into a multi-disciplinary service provider that comprises a wide range of professionals, which is consistent with the ever-increasing complexity and demand for medical technology.
This application of knowledge, ingenuity, and expertise is a manifestation of the over-riding importance of human knowledge capital in any maintenance project, irrespective of the industry (Johnson, 1996, pg. 567). That being the case therefore, it is always important to mobilize and incorporate knowledge from a large pool of disciplines, in any maintenance project, if the desired efforts are to be realized, to full effect, by the respective organization, in any such maintenance project. Also, it is imperative that the outcome is consistent with the client’s requirements and that the end product is both multi-functional and capable of being applied, in different functions (Johnson, pg. 568). This is particularly important, in that it offers the contractor goodwill, which is important in this sector, particularly as contracts of this nature normally adhere to the principle of trading first, and production second. It is also important in maintaining standards, especially because the performance standards and acceptance checks are susceptible to variations in the interpretation of the various clauses (Buren, 1999, pg. 73), not to mention the fact that long-term operation of this type are prone to changes in economic fluctuations, government policies and other exogenous variables.
The above situation is very closely mirrored in the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, which forms the subject of this research. Installed in 1982 at KFSH & RC, the Cyclotron section, which first went into operation, in 1983, has been a major factor in the success of the entire radiopharmaceutical program.
A cyclotron works by producing the accelerated sub-atomic particles that can be used to produce radio-nuclides that can be used in the medical world. The neutron deficient radio-nuclides that are produced when the target is struck by these sub-atomic particles are the main source material used in preparing radiopharmaceuticals. Other than the target stations that are availed in seven beam lines, there is also an internal target system that is fitted with an isorabbit device for the remote transmission of the irradiated targets, to guard hot cells for remote production of radioactive materials. This section also builds up new targets and other enhancements to the technology, with the main aim of enhancing production and efficiency. Being the first connection in the radiopharmaceutical production chain, the cyclotron needs to be extremely reliable, at all times, despite its technological complexity. This requirement, coupled with its complexity, shows just how vital a competent and updated maintenance team is to the overall success of the organization.
From the above discussions, there is no doubt that a maintenance project of this nature requires the support of as large a collection of diverse and technical expertise as is practically possible. For instance, the Cyclotron operation section that was responsible for the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, and any other future improvement and maintenance included civil engineers, architects, nuclear scientists, and engineers specializing in the biomedical fields. The engineering group, in particular, had to have the necessary equipment, in place, as well the capacity to up-to-date training on designing, testing, and troubleshooting vacuum, electronic and electromagnetic systems. The department’s radiation safety system that was also being upgraded required a great deal of electronic expertise and computer-aided-design facilities.
Mobilizing a team that is intellectually equipped to undertake as complex a project as the one being discussed in this paper might not be an easy task. Therefore, ensuring that they are always abreast of the latest developments in the industry requires a program that ought to incorporate in-house training, education and learning on the latest developments. The challenges involved in handling such projects are such that the professionals undertaking these projects need to stay abreast of the latest developments in their respective fields, through learning, training and education if their collective efforts are to deliver the desired results that not only satisfy the client’s requirements, but also give the organization a good reputation and hence a competitive edge.
2.2 KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL IN THE CONTEXT: RESOURCE-BASED VIEW OF THE ORGANIZATIONThe issue of what exactly gives an organization a competitive advantage has seen a shift in emphasis away from external resources and the comparative balance of competitive forces, towards an acceptance that internal resources be viewed as essential to sustained effectiveness (Wright, et al., 2001, pg. 701). The origins of the resource based concept (RBV) can be traced back to the work of Penrose (1959), which was later re-iterated in subsequent studies, by the likes of Rumelt (1984), Dierickx & Cool (1989) and Barney (1991, 1996). One of the greatest inputs of the RBV, in this debate, is that it created the urgent need for an organization to mobilize a valuable set of resources and incorporate them into a specific and dynamic approach to consolidating the organization’s success (Boxall, 1996, pg. 63).
Traditionally, competitive advantage was dependent on the technologies, natural resources and economies of scale, bases that unfortunately have become increasingly easy to imitate. Today, it is only through using valuable, hard-to-imitate, rare resources that typically exist within most organizations, that it is possible to gain the necessary competitive advantage. In this respect, knowledge capital in the actual sense is an “invisible asset”, which is attainable through learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity (Itami, 1987). The organization of the knowledge capital pool, or the collection of employee capability and its management through the human resource, therefore becomes evident. Snell, et al., (1996) argue that, if the type and level of knowledge are disproportionately distributed, in such a way that some organizations’ employees are able to acquire the skills that they require through learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity, while others cannot, then, ceteris paribus, that kind of knowledge capital can become a major source of sustained competitive advantage.
Inimitability is another important virtue of human knowledge capital (Lepak & Snell, 1999, pg. 37). There are two main reasons that make human knowledge capital difficult to imitate, namely: path dependency and causal ambiguity (Berker & Gerhart, 1996, and Barney, 1991). Causal ambiguity, in this case, refers to difficulties that reside in any attempt at grasping the exact mechanism through which the interplay of human knowledge capital practice and policies create value. By being path dependent, these knowledge capital systems’ policies developed, over time, cannot simply be purchased in the market by other players in the market. If anything, they are perpetually changing (Berker & Gerhart, pg. 782). The interdependency between human knowledge capital practices and policies, combined with the distinctive context of specific companies, creates barriers to any form of imitation. To quote Boxall, human resources ought to be “latent with productive possibilities” (Boxall, 1996, pg. 67), which therefore means that human knowledge capital advantage depends not only on securing what is often referred to as “the best and the brightest”, but also on investing in staff learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity.
This emphasis on human knowledge capital is also highlighted in the strategy research on the so-called “core competencies”, where economic rent is ascribed to what Hamel and Prahalad call “people-embodied skills” (Hamel & Prahalad, 1994, pg. 232). It is this increased importance of RBV that has driven the advancement of human capital management, in general, and human knowledge capital, in particular, over the years, not to mention the convergence between the various fields of HRM and the strategy that has been developed, over the same period (Wright, et al., 2001).
The resource-based view reinforces the common belief in strategic human resource management, where people are the greatest source of organizational success (Roberts, 1995, pg. 43). Although, Michael Hammer argues that the age-old statement “people are the greatest assets” is not necessarily played out, in contemporary American business, the rise of human resource management has been spectacular (Truss, 2001, pg. 24). This can be traced back to the 1980s, with the analysis of the concept of “Japanese miracle” which was emerging as a viable route to success in the commercial arena; an analysis that among others showed that success built on an idiosyncratic form of people management, and by the recommendations received from the excellence movement (Collins & Porras, 1994).
Looking at the Cyclotron operation section upgrade project, in 2011, in KFSH & RC, there is no doubt that any failure on the part of KFSH & RC to invest in learning, education, experience, expertise, innovation, and creativity for the employees engaged in the maintenance department dealing with cyclotron operation would result in the reduced overall effectiveness of the entire medical facility. This is primarily because of the pivotal importance of the cyclotron section to the rest of the departments in the hospital dealing with the patients’ treatment. A recent investigation that sought to establish the perspective of both the organization and the client on the differing requirements, as far as the maintenance project performance was concerned pointed out that the realization of the targets and objectives, compliance to the client’s requirements, identification of both the objective of project and requirements of the clients and compliance to government policies and legislative requirements were the main criteria that clients use in their evaluation of a project’s performance (Tyson, 1997, pg. 15). The investigation went further, highlighting the importance placed on the criteria applied in the design stages, vis-à-vis those used in other stages. Other significant findings have focused on the differing opinions and attitudes towards certain essential factors in the overall maintenance project. For instance, in the case of the “King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center”, it was revealed that the project’s maintenance, cost, security, and timescale had been severely underestimated. It is, therefore, of th
Does Insecurity Promote Development
Does Insecurity Promote Development
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Executive Summary
Insecurity does not contribute, or promote to the development of a country. A majority of the poorest countries globally, are the ones that experience high levels of insecurity. Countries such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo are rich in natural resources, yet brutal civil wars, and other forms of insecurity have contributed to these countries failing to experience significant development in the last few years. In fact, these case studies are an indication that insecurity leads to a country to lag behind. The purpose of this paper was to provide evidence demonstrating how insecurity negatively affects development. The methodological approach that the researcher used was conduct case studies on countries that are currently experiencing different forms of violence, which has contributed to their insecurity, and assess its impact on their development initiatives. The countries that were selected were Afghanistan and Central Africa Republic. The findings of the study suggested that insecurity impedes the development of a country.
Keywords: Insecurity, Development, Economic Growth, Investments, Economic Activities and Violence
Introduction
There is no nation in the world that has reported significant development within its borders, while experiencing a high level of insecurity. Wars, or violent conflicts mainly in the developing countries has contributed to heavy human, economic and social costs that contribute to high levels of poverty and under development(Bowman et al., 2008). A majority of the poorest countries globally, are the ones that experience high levels of insecurity. Countries such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo are rich in natural resources, yet brutal civil wars, and other forms of insecurity have contributed to these countries failing to experience significant development. Even though experiencing peace in a country does not guarantee development initiatives, there is a high level of correlation between insecurity and underdevelopment (Brück & De Groot, 2013). In this paper, the researcher has provided evidence on how insecurity acts as a hindrance to the development of a country.
How Insecurity Negatively Impacts Development
Civil war that is experienced by a country contributes to the national government losing revenue that could have been used in the development initiatives. According to Collier (2007), the average cost of a civil war to the affected country is $64 billion. In a study that was conducted by Oxfam, a Non-governmental Organization (NGO), estimated that between 1990 and 2005, civil war, and other forms of violent conflicts in different Africa countries cost approximately $300 billion. Oxfam equated this amount, to the total donations, or international aid figures that African countries had received during that period (Oxfam, 2010). An important point to note is that, between 1990 and 2005, there were 23 countries that reported issues of civil unrest and violence. If these countries did not engage in violent conflicts, they would have experienced a high level of economic growth. For instance, in Guinea-Bissau, prior to its 1998/99 conflict, the projected economic growth for this country was expected to reach approximately 5.24%. However, its actual growth during that period was -10.15%. These studies provide evidence that, African countries that engage in civil unrest, or civil war activities, which contribute to insecurity issues lose large amounts of money that could have been used to boost the economy and engage in development initiatives.
Insecurity disrupts the development initiatives that were to be carried out in a specific area. According to Dike (2013) he suggested that, the lack of security to protect the lives, and the property of people in a specific area, it acts as a hindrance to any form of meaningful development. The reason for this is that, when there is a climate of fear in a region, it frightens the domestic and foreign agencies that may have been interested in carrying out different development programs, in that region as they are not guaranteed security for their potential investments. This has largely been experienced in the River States of Nigeria where the high level of insecurity because of the control of the region by the Boko Haram, instead of the Nigerian government has halted development initiatives in that region. The increased killing, kidnapping, armed robbery, and even cultist activities have contributed to people fleeing these states (Dantala, 2014). There are many development projects that were abandoned as the people who were involved, move to new regions to start over their lives, or invest in areas that they consider safe, and where their investments will be protected.
In a study that was conducted by Ugwu (2013), there was evidence that insecurity negatively affected community development. A majority of communities in the regions that are insecure have failed to witness any form of development projects, because of the existence of unresolved conflicts (Pejić Bach et al., 2018). In such regions, it is difficult to recruit, or mobilize members of the community to undertake development processes, as workers may be afraid to work in violent prone communities as they fear to be exposed to hostility (Verwimp et al., 2019). Such areas lack adequate infrastructure such as effective transportation systems, communication networks, water, and electricity systems. In addition to that, they lack basic social amenities schools and hospitals.
Insecurity and Economic Disparity among the Citizens
A majority of the countries that have experienced large-scale violent conflicts are considered to be the most corrupt. This is an indication that there is a causal linkage between conflict, or insecurity, and corruption, which ultimately results in a country, or region lagging behind in its development initiatives (Justino, 2008). There are various ways in which corruption causes conflict, and contributes to the underdevelopment of a region. First, corruption activities will contribute to the weakening of the government (Lambsdorff, 2006). The reason for this is that, it will constantly be losing funds that could have been channeled to development initiatives to individuals. The government will be incapable of providing its mandate to the people, and this will contribute to its weakening.
Second, corruption initiatives will cause grievances, and discontent among the people. Citizens of a country may become disgruntled, if despite paying high taxes, they do not experience, or witness any development initiatives in their areas (Stewart, 2002). It increases their likelihood to rebel against the government given the opportunity. An important point to note is that corruption will mainly contribute to insecurity of a nation, and lead to under-development if the stolen, or diverted funds are accessed by rebels, or people who want to overthrow the government (Detges, 2016). The reason for this is that, they will use these resources to purchase weapons and other supplies and recruit forces that they can lead to a violent conflict in a country.
Case Studies
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country’s violent conflicts, and insecurity issues began in 1979, following the Soviet Invasion in the country. The decades of war in this country have destroyed a majority of the social institutions in this country. According to the World Bank, Afghanistan is one of the least developed, and one of the poorest countries in the world (World Bank, 2019). It is estimated that, over a third of the country’s population live below the poverty line. In addition to that, four out of five people live in the rural areas where they have limited, or no access to social amenities such as hospitals, lack of significant health education, which means that a majority of pregnancy complications are not evaluated and treated (Haider & Kumar, 2019). The country also experiences nutrition issues, and such factors have contributed to the country having a high infant mortality rate of 110.6.
The main economic activity in the country is agriculture. However, even though this is one of the main pillars of the country’s economy, factors such as undependable climatic changes, natural disasters such as drought and floods have meant that the country is unable to experience any form of significant economic prosperity through agriculture (Haider & Kumar, 2019). A majority of people who rely on this economic activity are able to self-sustain without external assistance in the form of foreign aid.
Coincidentally, foreign aid is considered to be one of the main economic pillars of the country’s economic development initiatives. The reasons as to why Afghanistan is still largely dependent on foreign aid is because of its political and strategic problems that have contributed to the country experiencing a high level of insecurity, which has ultimately had a negative impact on the overall development of the country. An important point to note as to why the country still heavily relies on foreign aid as part of its main economic pillars is because of security concerns in the country. Although, there has been a significant reduction in the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan, there are still 2,500 US soldiers in the country who are trying to establish peace, and political stability in the country. As of 2019, the Afghanistan government controlled only 53.8% of the country’s territory, 33.9% of the country’s territory is still under conflict as the government and allied troops battle Taliban forces for control. 12.3% of the country’s territory is still under Taliban rule.
The continued conflict between the Taliban forces and the Afghanistan government forces has had a negative impact on the economic activities in the country such as local and foreign investments and industrialization efforts, which could have contributed to increased employment opportunities for a majority of the citizens of the country. In addition to that, the other factors that have contributed to Afghanistan’s increased reliance on foreign aid are: the weak governance in the country, and high prevalence of corruption in the government institutions, which one can argue have also contributed to the continued conflict in this region.
The high insecurity levels in most parts of Afghanistan, especially in the rural areas have contributed to these regions receiving little, or no development programmes, or initiatives. The underdevelopment and lack of consistent economic activities in the region have led to a majority of people engaging in illegal activities in particular growing opium. Afghanistan has been the world’s leading Opium producer from 2001, producing over 85% of the illicit heroin that is distributed globally, and more than 95% of the heroin that is supplied in Europe (Rowlatt, 2019). It is estimated that, the annual export returns from opium trade in Afghanistan is between $1.5-3 billion, which mainly benefits the Taliban, and is one of the main income source for this terrorist group (Azami, 2018) . The high insecurity levels in most parts of Afghanistan have contributed to the increase in opium farms in the country, and Taliban tax opium farmers, which is used as part of their income, or resources to fund their war initiatives, ensuring that the country remains unstable.
There is disparity in education attainment in Afghanistan. The overall adult literacy rate is 43.02%. However, while the male literacy rate is considered to be 55.48%, that of females is significantly lower at 29.81%. This has widely been contributed by the insecurity issues that the country is facing. It is estimated that in the rural areas, thousands of students, and in particular the female ones are unable to attend groups because of security threats that are posed by militia groups such as the Taliban. Additionally, there are high incidences of corruption and embezzlement that have had a negative impact on the quality of education in the country. Millions of dollars that was meant to improve the level of education in the country was embezzled by the education officials in the country. This means that the quality of education cannot be compared with the set global standards.
Notably, there is a shortage of teachers in Afghanistan, and this has affected the quality of education. One of the reasons as to why there is a shortage of teachers in this country is because of the low wages that the teachers are compensated. It is an indication that there is no, or less financial incentive for the individuals who were trained as teachers to be willing to engage in this practice. Other factors that have affected the overall quality of education in Afghanistan is that the curriculum that is used, needs to be revised to ensure that what the students are taught is relevant, and applicable in the 21st century. There is also the need to increase the number of textbooks and other reading materials that the students can refer to, while they are learning to improve their overall knowledge. Furthermore, there is the need to develop key infrastructure that will promote, or motivate the students to want to learn. This means that there is the need to build schools, libraries, and enough tertiary institutions to accommodate the students that are completing high school. This should especially be conducted in the rural areas where the shortage of infrastructure is more pronounced.
Central Africa Republic (CAR)
The Central African Republic is considered to be one of the world’s least developed countries. It ranks second last in the UN Human Development Index, at 188 out of 189 countries as of December, 2018 (Human Development Index (HDI), 2019).The country has been in a consistent state of economic instability since it got its independence from France in 1960. The country’s main economic activities are agriculture, mining, and export of timber. The export of diamond is considered to be the most successful export, and revenue generating initiative for the country. However, revenue from these exports are mainly unaccounted for because of poor management by the government, and political instability issues, which have contributed to increased violence in the country and insecurity issues.
As of February 2021, there are still internal clashes in Central African Republic between government forces and armed groups in different parts of the country. The violence in the country has resulted in over 600,000 people to be internally displaced (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). The violence began in 2013, and there seems to be no end in sight as to when there will be resolution, or an effective peace deal will be brokered. In 2017, there was a peace agreement that was signed between the government, and thirteen of the fourteen armed groups in the country (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). However, this peace deal did not result in an end in the violence. It is estimated that the ex-Seleka and anti-balaka militias in the country control approximately two-thirds of the country’s territory. This means that the country’s national government only controls approximately one-third of the country’s territory.
According to a 2019 World Bank report on CAR, it was stated that the country’s economic growth in 2018 reduced to 3.7% (The World Bank, 2019). This was a result of the violence that erupted in late 2017 after the peace deal that had been brokered between the government and the armed militias was broken (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). The violence inhibited the country’s main activity through the disruption of the main agricultural activities, mining of Gold, uranium and diamonds, forestry, and even delaying the projected investments that were to be initiated.
Currently, the poverty levels in CAR are high. According to projections, it is estimated that roughly 71% of the country’s population is living below the international poverty line i.e. $1.90 per day (The World Bank, 2019). There are approximately 643,000 people who are internally displaced, and an additional 575,000 people CAR refugees in the neighboring countries. As of 2019, there were approximately 2.9 million people in CAR, which is more than 50% of the country’s population will need, or require humanitarian aid, out of which 1.6 million people are considered to be in dire need of this aid. It is an indication that a majority of people do not have a stable household, and they are unable to provide for themselves the basic needs without foreign intervention. Also, given that the national government only controls a third of the country’s territory, it means that they are unable to provide the required assistance to the people.
The health system of the country is among the worst globally. This is signified by the country having one of the largest maternal death rates in the world at 882 per 100,000 live births (World Health Organization, 2014).This is the third highest maternal deaths globally. In addition to that, the under-five child mortality rate in the country is also high at 179 per 1,000, which is the sixth highest globally. To put into perspective the state of the health system in the country, 42% of the healthcare facilities in the country have been damaged, 50% have been looted, and 68% are experiencing a shortage of medicines. Furthermore a majority of the healthcare workers have fled from their posts.
CAR has one of the world’s poorest education system and gender equality disparity. The education system of this country has been negatively impacted by the prolonged periods of conflict. An important point to note is that, there are areas, or regions that are under rebel control, and this means that they cannot access government services. In fact, out of the 71 districts, there are 24 that have mainly been affected by poor security situations. The schools in these districts have been forced on multiple occasions to close down. According to the 2019, World Bank report, this has contributed to poor primary school results, and there are inadequate number of schools for girls who want to advance their education past the primary level. The result is that, the country has a low literacy rate level. In 2018, it was stated that the literacy rate in the country was 37.40%. This was only a 0.64% increase from the literacy rate level of the country in 2010.
Notable Findings
In the two countries that were evaluated in this paper, it was established that insecurity has slowed the development initiatives in these countries. In both Afghanistan and Central Africa Republic they have been affected by conflicts for more than four decades. Although the Central African Republic has viable economic activities that its people can engage in such as farming, mining, and forestry for timber exports, the political instability, and violence has resulted in hundreds of people marginalized, and over 71% of the population living below the global poverty line. In addition to that, a majority of its development projects, and investment opportunities have had to be delayed, or postponed until when the country will attain some form of stability, and this has denied the country opportunities to grow economically.
The poor education and healthcare sector and infrastructure in Central Africa Republic are some of the main indicators of the lack of development in this country. The country has one of the worst literacy level, and one of the highest maternal deaths and infant mortality rates. It shows that the country lacks some of the basic amenities that can promote development. With these issues at hand, it means that even if the country was to attain peace today, it will struggle to engage in development initiatives because there will be a shortage of skilled workforce to provide the necessary skills in the different economic sectors.
Afghanistan on the other hand is a country whose main economic activity is farming, or agriculture. However, natural calamities such as flooding, and drought make agriculture to be a less reliable form of sustenance, and promotion of economic activity. Violence in this country has slowed the pace for development initiatives, while providing militias such as the Taliban with the opportunity to tax the citizens so that they can be able to fund their activities and agendas. It was established that a majority of people in the country rely on foreign aid to sustain them.
In Afghanistan, the quality of education and health care is also low. Although men have a significantly high literacy level, i.e., more than 50%, for the women it is slightly below 30%, at 29%. Different factors have affected the quality of education in the country such as lack of adequate infrastructure and reading materials, shortage of teachers, and using an outdated curriculum. In the health sector, it has been established that the country has a relatively high infant mortality rate. Access and affordability of these facilities is also a challenge, especially for the people who live in the rural areas. The situation could have become worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
The evidence provided in this paper shows that insecurity has a negative impact on development. When there is no peace, people are less likely to stay in one area, or in their homes, as has been the case for CAR where there are hundreds of thousands of internally marginalized people and CAR refugees in the neighboring countries. The national governments such as is the case with Afghanistan and CAR do not have absolute control of their territories, and this affects their ability to engage in development initiatives in different parts of the country. The main sectors of the economy such as education and health sector are adversely affected. A country like Central Africa Republic may not experience significant development even if they attain peace in the next few years because of shortage of skilled employees who will become a reliable workforce and work hard to develop their country.
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EXTENT OF SAMARITAN JEW ENTRAPMENT BETWEEN ISRAELI JEWS AND PALESTINE ARABS.
EXTENT OF SAMARITAN JEW ENTRAPMENT BETWEEN ISRAELI
JEWS AND PALESTINE ARABS
Name:
Institution:
Date:
Abstract
The Samaritan Jews are a relatively small group of ethnocentric people who until recently lived a life immune to the current dynamics of geopolitical turmoil. They are thought to have originated from the Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, but the current debate has little to do with ancestral origins. This paper explores their origin and struggle for acceptance and definition. On one side, the Jews in Israel claim Samaritan Jews have always been a part of their people – although slightly alienated for cultural purposes, while Palestine Arabs also lay claim to the same community especially in light of the current struggle for West Bank. In addition to these issues related to their identity crisis, we shall also try to delve into their religious affiliations, religious ties with Nablus and Holon as well as their position on Jewish and Arab religions. Finally, we shall explore Samaritan Jew wars with either side in relation to the mentioned regions, and eventually carry out a compare and contrast exercise between them, Israelite Jews, and Palestinian Arabs.
Key words: Samaritan Jew, Israelite Jew, Palestine Arabs, Zionism, Islam.
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction. PAGEREF _Toc428959374 h 3Samaritan Jews: Their origins and identity before the current strife PAGEREF _Toc428959375 h 3The Samaritan relationship with Israel and Palestine. PAGEREF _Toc428959376 h 5Samaritan positions before the establishment of Israel, their views on Zionism and Palestine. PAGEREF _Toc428959377 h 8The Samaritan position during the Arab vs. Israeli Jewish wars. PAGEREF _Toc428959378 h 10Similarities between Samaritan Jews and Palestine Arabs. PAGEREF _Toc428959379 h 12Differences between Samaritans and Palestine Arabs. PAGEREF _Toc428959380 h 14Conclusion. PAGEREF _Toc428959381 h 15
Introduction.
When the creators of Israel as a state envisaged their dream, they did not adequately factor in consideration for the roles of the minority Samaritan and Karaite ethnic groups that were on the sidelines. Although their existence had long been subject to the shifts in the geo-political environment of the region, they had not considered the tricky place people such as the Samaritans would find themselves by the establishment of Israel as a state. These minority groups found themselves in the centre of a heated battle between their Jewish cousins on the Israeli front and the Islamic counterparts on the other.
Stating that Samaritan Jews were in the center of this melee is not an overstatement for they actually were divided into two almost equal groups by their regions of residence on either side of the ideological, political, and religious divide. This paper explores some aspects of this tricky position that Samaritan Jews found themselves due to the creation of Israel and other factors.
Samaritan Jews: Their origins and identity before the current strifeSamaritan Jews claim that their ancestors were the two sons of Jacob, Manasseh and Ephraim. According to Anderson & Giles (2012), after Joshua conquered Canaan and settled the Israelites according to the will of Moses as instructed by God. Of the twelve tribes, excluding that of Levi, half were to be settled on Mount Gerizim, also known as the Mountain of Blessing (p. 56). The other half were to be settled on Mount Ebal, the Mountain of Curse. After the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722BC, a small number of the Israelites survived and were deported. The inscriptions of King Sargon – the second place the number of those deported at roughly 29270, meaning that a significant number remained. It is these remnants who refer themselves to as Israelites.
According to their ancient folklore and history, as well as Abu I-Fath, author of some of the most comprehensive historical work on Samaritans, the division resulting from the falling out of Eli and the High Priesthood due to errant offering rites might be the original turning point of Samaritan history. It is reported by Anderson & Giles (2012) that Eli made an offering while omitting salt – an important ingredient in the process of making offering to God back then – thus forcing the High Priest Uzzi Ben Bukki to cajole him (p.145).
The resulting arguments and exchanges forced Eli, then a wealthy man of repute, to leave drawing with him a sizeable number of sympathizers. He landed at Shiloh, built a temple like the one Moses ordered built at Mount Gerezim, and started a life there with a healthy following. After all this, Israel was left divided into three factions: one that worshipped according to Gentile idolatry, one that remained with the High Priest at Mount Gerezim, and the one that followed Eli to Shiloh.
Interestingly, Israelite Jews have their account that tries to explain the origin of Samaritans as both an ethnic group, and from a religious stand point. The Samaritan Jew and Israelite Jew version both agree about this up to the point where Assyrian deportation and replacement of the original Israelites took place. Here, Israelite Jews assert that the Samaritan Jews possibly originated from a different group of ethnic communities to what the former group claims. It is reported by Crown (2000) that the children of Israel were deported to Gozan, Halah and Medes, being replaced by the Assyrians with people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avah, Emath, and Sepharvim (p. 353).
Another interesting point as exposed by Costello (1977) in his attempt at deciphering the history of the Samaritan Jews is, “the contradiction between Israelite Jewish accounts of this issue and the Biblical book of Chronicles” (p. 1270. In this book, it is written that King Hezekiah harbored ambitions of uniting the people of Judah with those from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh after the destruction of Samaria. During the time of Josiah, when the temple was being rebuilt, offerings to the cause came from, among other places, “the remnants of Israel” in Samaria, including those from the descendants of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. The Prophet Jeremiah also mentions how people from Shechem, Samaria, and Shiloh brought offerings of grain and frankincense as contribution to the temple’s rebuilding process. It is eventually argued that the reported Assyrian resettlement failed, and that a band of Israelites remained in Samaria, settled there as refugees and propagated themselves after the conquest of Judah.
The Samaritan relationship with Israel and Palestine.The Samaritan Jew relationship with Israelite Jews is an ancient affair, probably dating back to the times of Jacob. Fine (2013) acknowledges that among Samaritans, they are direct descendants of his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, making them and Israelite Jews close relatives since Israelites consider themselves descendants of the same man (p. 34). While there were differences arising from various occurrences, such as the divisions caused by Eli, or the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Israel, these two groups remain closely related.
However, from a religious perspective, there are some distinct variation and arguments against each other. Israelite Jews practice strict Judaism according to the teachings of Moses, while Samaritan religion is influenced by Islam, Gentile teachings, as well as watered down versions of Judaism. Some notable differences in the Samaritan and Israeli forms of Judaism are based upon the role of Moses and Mount Gerezim. Samaritans believe Moses shall come back as a restorer while Israeli Jews view him just a messenger and deliverer from Egypt. Mount Gerezim is viewed by Samaritan Jews as the only true sanctuary as opposed to the Israelite perspective on Jerusalem.
Samaritan Jews believe they are an independent people with their own set of norms and well defined cultural practices. They observe the Passover according to their own religious beliefs observing the collection of rites that have been their norm for thousands of years. They dress in flowing robes as their ancestors have done for centuries and only allow the heads of the family to lead during Passover (Gil 1997). They slaughter unblemished lambs, consume unleavened bread called “matzah”, and stay indoors during the feast as has been their tradition for all the years. The rules of male circumcision, kosher dietary habits, and family purity are strictly observed as well.
Although geopolitical differences have placed them in different lands, whereby roughly half the Samaritan population lives in Holon, an Israeli town, while the other half resides in Nablus, a Palestine territory, the people still unite at Kiryat Luza in the West Bank region during the Passover as well as other holidays and family outings. This unity has seen them through many hard times including them current Israeli-Arab struggles. Modernization as well as the Western influence might be evident in the daily lives of the younger generations of Samaritan people, but they still follow their religious obligations to the letter (Hinnebusch 2003). Older generations still dress like the old Biblical times, but even they are not oblivious of the need to embrace modern methods of communication in order to enable their plight to be heard amidst all the Jewish and Islam arguments.
Before the invasion of Palestine, areas of the Middle East and parts of modern day North Africa by Romans, British and Arabs, the Samaritan population was higher as they enjoyed a large degree of autonomist independence. While independent, Samaritan religion, culture and commerce fueled their large numbers that at one time was estimated at more than a million. However, when these invaders came into their lands, they persecuted and oppressed the fewer, weaker Samaritan community, eventually reducing their numbers to fewer than 200 just before the First World War. It is worth noting that after the Arab invasion and subsequent conquest of Palestine in A.D 634, the Samaritan population already present underwent a forced shift in terms of cultural and religious way of life (Mielke et. al 2007). Islamist forced the Islamic religion on any areas they conquered and Holon was no exception.
While most of the Samaritan Jews moved back to Nablus in keeping with the history of their culture and religion, some families decided to move to Holon to follow up on their commercial ambitions. One particular family is credited with instigating this mass movement that saw Samaritan Jews right in the middle of Islamic-Jewish tension between Israel and Palestine. Knoppers (2013) reports how the Tsedaka family activities are seen by many scholars as the turning point of Samaritan Jewish return to Nablus as Yefet Abraham’s move to Holon signaled the start of a proper Samaritan residence in Islamic Palestine (p. 88). His tents, synagogue and cultural center paved way for a proper Samaritan residence when more modern and permanent structures were erected and more Samaritans moved in.
Samaritan positions before the establishment of Israel, their views on Zionism and Palestine.Before the establishment of Israel as a nation, Samaritans enjoyed a large degree of freedom that was subject to the geographical location they found themselves in. Before the time of Jesus, they led a largely normal life characterized by Jewish practice and normal farming and herding lifestyles (Joseph 2005). In the years following 164BC, a period known as the Hellenistic period witnessed the first form of reaction from Samaritans to any form of external interference.
Some small faction formed in Samaria and divided the Samaritans into two groups, one led by the High Priest, and the other the break-away faction that had adopted Hellenizing ideologies.
During the Roman times, which is also the period Jesus of Nazareth was alive on earth Samaritans are mentioned a few times in the gospels under the teachings of Jesus. The most notable of these mentions is the Samaritan woman at the well who served Christ with water and was redeemed for that humble gesture. While Jesus was propagating the gospels to the children of Israel, Samaritans continued to observe and conform to their religion’s teachings all the while facing persecution from Christians and Romans.
Kartveit & Ebrary (2009) report how during the Byzantine period, under Emperor Zeno, Samaritans faced their first encounter with large scale religious persecution (p. 23). The ruler went to Sichem and forced the Samaritans to convert to Christianity without success. Many died on that day marking the first time such large scale destructive force had been used on the ethnic group for religious reasons. In addition, Zeno also went to Mount Gerezim and erected a tomb of his son for the Samaritan worshipers to prostrate themselves before. After such action, Samaritans went against their naturally docile nature and went on a rampage killing Christians, burning churches, and maiming priests in and around Sichem.
Their revolts almost caused the extinction of the community after Emperor Justinian the first brought in Arab reinforcement to crash the revolt in AD 529. This marked the introduction of Arab, and eventually Islam, into the process of oppressing Samaritans before the establishment of Israel (Longva & Roald 2012). After the Muslim conquests, the conquerors met Samaritans occupying a large region spanning across several countries. These people had members of their community all over Egypt, Iran, and Syria, but that changed immediately forced conversion to Islam started. Over the Turkish and Ottoman rule, Samaritans were subjected to persecution, forced conversion to Islam, and unfair taxation as well as government policies. This created a feeling of hatred and distrust for the Muslim majority occupying the lands among Samaritan minority.
This oppression changed to small extent after the British occupation of Palestine between 1920 and 1948. During the time, the largely imperialist white man was involved in establishing British influence in the area and thought it wise to empower Samaritans by allowing some freedoms. In light of the centuries spent under forced conversion to Islam, unfair policies and taxation by their previous oppressors, this new people were readily welcomed, especially after provisions were made to place a Samaritan in the Shechem Municipality to agitate for their grievances (Sela &EBSCO 1997). These favors, though stringed to some conditions, readily appealed to the small Samaritan community already tired of oppression. It did not come as surprise that during the Israeli declaration of independence and the ensuing wars, Samaritan readily supported whoever the imperialist supported – the Zionist.
The Samaritan position during the Arab vs. Israeli Jewish wars.
Muslims in their entirety have always been against the establishment and propagation of an Israeli nation. So much, that Palestine refers to the period in 1948 during the formation of the Israeli state a disaster. All that negativity towards Jews by Arabs especially had been manifested in their four attempts at destabilizing, and indeed defeating, the state of Israel, but all attempts have been futile with some even embarrassingly so. All the while, the position of Samaritan Jews has been one of great interest seeing how half of the minority group resides in the Arab Palestine region of Nablus, while the other resides in Israel’s Holon region.
Persecution and other factors had decimated Samaritans to a mere 150 individuals as at the early nineteen hundreds, but with the efforts of both the community itself and the surrounding states, the number rose to healthy numbers soon enough. However, even with the increased numbers and more attention from neighbors, Samaritans chose to remain impartial to the rapidly shifting geo-political situation unfolding in the area (Smith 1993). Israel had just become a state much to the chagrin of neighboring Arab and Muslim nations who viewed the Jews with contempt and distaste.
In conforming with their ancestry as well as for survival purposes, Samaritans tend to align themselves to the Israeli side in terms of political affiliation. However, a Samaritan did not singlehandedly stand up and declare enemity for either Israel or Palestine until 1960. A Samaritan leader called Al-Kahen Wasef al-Samery stood and declared that Israel was as much an enemy for them as Palestine was, creating the first signs of allegiance to a side in the tense region. In effect, the leader had singled out Samaritans as independent and willing to fight for their freedom at a time when Israel was finding itself surrounded by potential foes. This was further aggravated by the Samaritan population trying to indirectly align itself to Palestine by declaring the Israeli as oppressive and unfair.
As much as the Samaritans remained non-partisan to the Israeli-Arab wars and strife, their allegiance was secretly with the small nation facing the older, more determined Islamic neighbors surrounding her. Israel for the Samaritans was not only the imperialists’ favorite, but the chosen sanctuary for all the Jews regardless, meaning any threat to that land was a direct attack to their homeland (Soyer 2007). Although they were not keen to demonstrate this support for fear of the imminent reprisals, Samaritans started supporting the cause indirectly through methods such as joining the Israeli armed forces, on the Holon side, and complete ignorance on the Palestine and Arab Jordanian side.
However heated this period was for the Samaritan people, and the high tension surrounding the actions of all involved, they eventually resumed their non-partisan role of not supporting anyone in the region for fear of the ramifications to the small, weak community. In addition to this fears, was the threat of their people dying off due to some genetic disease caused by a small gene pool. Restoration activities were instead initiated with the aim of strengthening the community through intermarriage with Israelite women. Although these new wives and mothers had to accept to renounce the Israeli Jewish religion in favor of the Samaritan one, the four left Samaritan families (Cohen, Danfi, Tsedakah, and Marhib) were able to save the community using this unorthodox, yet necessary method.
Complete restoration according to Thomas (2011) of the community has been enabled by the growth of Israel as both a state and a refuge for Jews running away from persecution (p. 29). After the establishment of the state via a declaration of independence in 1948, Israel formulated a special rule to enable the repatriation of all Jews in the world to their rightful homeland. Known as the Law of Return, this rule justifies the return of any Jew in the world to Israel as long as they are not going to harm Jews, cause trouble, cause harm, or public outcry. As long as one was born to a Jewish mother, or had converted to Judaism, they could enter the country up to 1992 when a petition was passed barring the entry of Samaritans into the country since their mothers were not Jews. However, this petition was challenged in 1994 resulting in a continued influx of Samaritans into Israel (Thomas 2010).
Similarities between Samaritan Jews and Palestine Arabs. Samaritan Jews and Palestine Arabs both practice a monotheistic religions characterized by the worship of one God. They both have special names for their God, with Samaritans calling God Yahweh, and Palestine Arabs referring to Allah. Both consider themselves the only true worshipers of His power and glory with all other groups generally considered as non-believers and damned. This is the most obvious similarity between Samaritans and Palestine Arabs.
Both groups have the highest regard for a set way of life that has been outlined by their deities. The Samaritans have high regard for the Pentateuch and consider this the divinely ordained way of life. It is characterized by a detailed guide of how one should worship cloth, marry, feed, correlate with fellow faithful, and other aspects of religious and normal life as outlined in the Holy Scriptures. Muslims make reference to the Quran’s equivalent to the Pentateuch for guidance on how to conduct them self. In addition, appropriate punitive action, as well as course of remedial action, is also outlined in the same scripture (Amirav 2009).
The religious teaching according to both groups, the Samaritan Jews and Palestine Arab ones, teach one basic concept – that of respect and reverence for the messenger. Samaritans believe in the teaching of Yahweh as outlined by his messenger Moses, while Palestine Arabs make reference to Allah‘s will as passed on by his messenger Prophet Muhammad (Sahid 1995). Both clearly advocate for a respect of prophets and their wisdom as they were chosen to convey God’s will to errant humans and bring upon salvation to the wise that would heed.
While Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God sent to die for the salvation of his flock, both Samaritans and Palestine Arabs disassociate themselves from such doctrines. They share the belief that Jesus was another messenger and that his claim to be the Son of God are both unfounded and untrue. Samaritans don’t have much regard for any teaching beyond the Pentateuch as these are, according to their beliefs, the only necessary religious guidelines needed for salvation. Palestine Arabs, like their Muslim friends, simply don’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God (Zen 2010).
In matters regarding the roles of women and children in both social and religious ceremonies, the Samaritan and Arab religions are quite oppressive allocating these the role of subservient spectators (Wilson 1990). Women are expected to cloth in a way that covers their modesty and hides parts of their bodies that could be objectified. On the other hand, men are placed on a pedestal as rulers on almost all aspects of the social, family, judicial, and religious life. For example, in the Samaritan way of life, even in the absence of a man in the family, it had to be a stranger that led that family during their Passover ceremony.
Both the Samaritan and Palestine Arab religious practices make reference to a holy shrine from where a major religious action is believed to have occurred. The Samaritans observe Passover by travelling to Kiryat Luza to observe their ceremony from there. Similarly, Muslim have an annual pilgrimage to Mecca for the same reasons as advised and justified by their religious teachings.
Differences between Samaritans and Palestine Arabs.Palestine Arabs, and indeed all Muslims, believe in the jihad – a holy war that is generally intended to defend their faith as well as the welfare of all Muslims. Samaritans on the other hand are generally a peaceful lot who do not advocate for the use of violence unless in defending their self. While there are records of instances of Samaritan invasions on innocent people, these were deemed necessary as was the fulfillment of God’s will, who instructed the attacks according to Holy Scriptures.
Titus (2007) shows how Samaritans are on record as more inclined towards activities that were based on the production of consumer goods (p. 170). They were farmers where land was arable, teachers, herders and nomadic pastoralists. Palestine Arabs like most of their fellow Muslims were astute traders and merchants. Although Samaritans adopted the practice of commerce, this indeed happened much later than Muslims who are thought to have played an integral role in the spread of commerce and barter trade. In general, Samaritans never ventured away from the areas surrounding Mount Gerezim and Jerusalem until the hardships of persecution during dark ages of Holocaust forced them to flee. On the other hand, Arabs, Palestine Arabs included, are in the history books for their attempts at, among other things, commerce, exploration, spreading Islam.
Conclusion.The emergence of Israel as a young nation amidst the largely hostile, Islamic neighbors has been seen as the reason Samaritan Jews find themselves in the tricky situation they currently are in. However, as the paper demonstrated, the circumstances surrounding Samaritan placement and their current woes are far from the sum of a young country trying to gain the freedom for its people. The influence of ancient activities such as: the spread of Christianity, Islam, resultant revolts, and complex geo-political ambitions during the colonial times have been shown to be collectively responsible.
However, Samaritan welfare has been demonstrated to be the result of more of brains than brawn. While their neighbors are embroiled in a bitter battle for ideological and religious purposes, the small band of conservative Samaritans chose to remain non-partisan to all the violence and politicking. All the while, their allegiance is secretly with their brothers – the Israelite Jews. Although there is more than meets the eye in this issue, the basic and most crucial point to remember among the many we have encountered is that Samaritan welfare is an important aspect of the larger issues present in the Middle East. That they have lasted this long at the intersection of all those battles seems to point to some divine intervention.
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