Karaimites
Shabbatis or Karaimites or Karimit or Karaitizers or Sabbatarians or Sabbatians or Subbotnik Molokans or Subbotnik-Karaites or Karaite Subbotniks (Russian: Субботники-Караимиты) also described as "Russian Karaites" (Russian: Русские Караимы), are Jewish Christians who practise ritual slaughter and sometimes circumcision. They recognize the Gospel, but also practice some of the rules and precepts of the Old Testament. In accordance with Matthew 23:2-3, Subbotnik Karaites obey the Scribes and the Pharisees but do not practice Pharisee Judaism. Instead they began to use the "Everyday Prayers for Karaites" by Abraham Firkovich (1870, Vilnius) for their liturgy. In 1882 this published in Russian as "Порядок молитв для караимов". It was based on the Siddur Tefillot keMinhag haKaraim by Isaak ben Solomon Ickowicz also used by the Crimean Karaites, who to a degree, exemplified for them a Judaic model which could be imitated by non-Jews who the Pharisees prohibit from observing Talmudic Judaism.
The Tora-centered B'nei Moshe movement is tied with the Subbotniks and formed the majority of the Jaffa port population. In 1904, later famous Spiritual-Zionist rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook was invited by them to become their rabbi. However, in 2004 the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar ruled the Subbotniks were not defined as Jewish and would have to undergo an Orthodox conversion.
The Interior Ministry classified the Subbotniks as a Christian sect and ineligible for aliyah to Israel, because no one knew if their ancestors had formally converted to Judaism (and there is much historic evidence that they did not) but the ruling was abolished in 2014, with an attempt by the Interior Ministry to allow remaining Subbotnik families like Hakham Yose Khoen's to make Aliyah and immigrate to Israel.
The leaders of the Shabbati community are the Gery Talmudists also known as Subbotnik Yudei rather than simply as Yevrei.
