 The Samaritans believe that it was not they, but the Jews, who separated from the authentic stream of the Israelite tradition and law, around the time of Eli, in the 11th century BCE.Jews have traditionally connected the origin of the Samaritans with the later events described in claiming that the Samaritans are not related to the Israelites, but to those brought to Samaria by the Assyrians.Modern scholarship connects the formation of the Samaritan community with events which followed the Babylonian captivity.