there was a message from An-Najah University in Nablus inviting me to go and read there. Nablus is only thirty-six kilometres north of Ramallah, but the city had been under Israeli closure for three years. Not a problem, said the university; we’ll send someone to get you. They sent a Samaritan in a white minivan who took us also to visit his home in Mount Gerizim. He showed us pictures of himself in traditional Syrian dress. The Samaritans self-identify as ‘Palestinian Jews’ and carry both Israeli and Palestinian documents. Israeli checkpoints open for them.
