and tax collection. During the 1840s, the ulama of Nablus began asserting that the Samaritans may not be considered "People of the Book" and therefore have the same status as pagans and must convert to Islam or die. As a result, locals attempted to force the conversion of two children of a Samaritan widow who had a Muslim lover in 1841. Her young daughter died from fear, but her 14-year-old boy converted to Islam. Another Samaritan was later coerced into converting to Islam. Appealing to the King of France did not help. The Samaritan people were eventually helped by the Jewish Hakham Bashi Chaim Abraham Gagin, who published a statement asserting that "the Samaritan people are a branch of the Israelites, who acknowledge the truthfulness of the Torah," and as such should be protected as a "People of the Book". The ulama ceased their preaching against Samaritans. The Samaritans also paid bribe to the Arabs, totaling approx. 1000 GBP, and eventually came out of their hiding places. However, they were prohibited from offering Passover sacrifices on Mount Gerizim until 1849. By the late Ottoman period, the Samaritan community dwindled to its lowest. In the 19th century, with pressure of conversion and persecution from the local rulers and occasional natural disasters, the community fell to just over 100 persons. Mandatory Palestine The situation of the Samaritan community improved significantly during the British Mandate of Palestine. At that time, they began to work in the public sector, like many other groups. With better medical care and Samaritan men marrying Jewish women, the demographic status of the community improved throughout the Mandatory period. The censuses of 1922 and 1931 recorded 163 and 182 Samaritans in Palestine, respectively. The majority of them lived in Nablus, 12 resided in Tulkarm, 12 in Jaffa, and 6 in As-Salt, Transjordan. Later some moved to Ramat Gan and even to Haifa. During the 1929 Palestine riots, Arab rioters attacked Samaritans who were performing the Passover sacrifice on Mount Gerizim and flung stones at them as well as their guests. The British police got involved and stopped any potential fatalities. Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian rule After the end of the British Mandate of Palestine and the subsequent establishment of the State of Israel, some of the Samaritans who were living in Jaffa emigrated to Samaria and lived in Nablus. By the late 1950s, around 100 Samaritans left the West