Jewish/Arab history goes much deeper than the handful of factoids that Weiss picks up from people he meets with views that map into his anti-Jewish sentiment.

Just because Israelis don't talk to schmucks like Weiss about Hebron does not mean that they are "blinded" to what's going on there. They know all about it- they are not naive, dilettantes that babble about situations that they don't fully understand. Weiss does not know the difference between Schem and Nablus!!! Now he's an expert on Hebron??? There is a popular t-shirt worn in Israel that says "think B 4 U speak".

Comparing Apartheid to the Arab/Israeli situation is a cliche that compares two situations that have so little in common that it is trivial to even begin to describe the differences.

Israelis are proud to join the IDF and those that don't want to join can do National Service:
"children at 18 are forced into the service of governing the Arabs and poking the old men at checkpoints"- this is false, biased statement.

Weiss' reporting reflects his bias and is full of inaccuracies. His last two pieces have demonstrated his false/sloppy/inaccurate reporting- why trust anything he writes, unless it fits your own preconceived bias?

It's too bad the Observer buys into his crap, and the editors don't wake up. Perhaps Jared Kushner will have a more objective viewpoint, he will receive an analysis of how crappy, biased reporting makes bad business sense.

Of course Hebron has vast import in Jewish history. But to go from that to saying, as previous commentator "Joey" does, that Hebron "is not an Arab town" is pure sophistry. Arabs live there; most have lived there for so long no one can remember when they arrived; the Arabs who lived there are the descendents of the people who lived there before the Arab conquests, when they called themselves Christians, or Canaanites, or Jews, or who knows what. (This is contrary to the right-wing narrative in Israel [and the U.S.] which says all Palestinians are descendents of the 7th c. Arabian armies. There's no historical basis for this.)

Joey perfectly embodies the Israeli version of what South African Steve Biko rejected in the following quote: "The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic dignity." [from Statement As Witness]

Joey and the settlers of Hebron are trying to make Palestinians foreigners in their own country and reduce their dignity. It's happening every day. This is shameful.

– I've heard it said Berchtesgarten is holy to Hitlerites, too.

"most have lived there for so long no one can remember when they arrived; the Arabs who lived there are the descendants of the people who lived there before the Arab conquests, when they called themselves Christians, or Canaanites, or Jews, or who knows what."

Jews have been in Hebron continually for 3000 years- the Arabs have come and went over the centuries.

"Or who knows what?" obviously you don't.

Ancient period:
Hebron became one of the principle centers of the Tribe of Judah, and the Judahite David was anointed King of Israel in Hebron and reigned in the city until the capture of Jerusalem, when the capital of the Kingdom of Israel was moved to that city. After the destruction of the First Temple, most of the Jewish inhabitants of Hebron were exiled and their place was taken by Edomites at about 587 BCE. Herod the Great built the wall which still surrounds the Cave of Machpelah. Jar handle stamps bearing Hebrew letters dating from 700 BCE, the oldest known inscription naming the city, have been found in Hebron (see LMLK seal).

During the first war against the Romans, Hebron was conquered by Simon Bar Giora, the leader of the Sicarii. Eventually it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I erected a Christian church over the Cave of Machpelah in the 6th century CE which was later destroyed by the Sassanids.

Medieval period:
The Islamic Caliphate established rule over Hebron without resistance in 638. Arab rule lasted until 1099, when the Christian Crusader Godfrey de Bouillon took Hebron in 1099 and renamed it "Castellion Saint Abraham". n 1260, al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari established Mamluk rule; the minarets were built onto the structure of the Cave of Machpelah/Ibrahami Mosque at that time. Duing this period, a small Jewish community continued to live in Hebron, however the climate was less tolerant of Jews (and Christians) than it had been under prior Islamic rule. Jews wishing to visit the tomb were often taxed, and in 1266 a decree was established barring Jews and Christians from entering the Tomb of the Patriarchs; they were only allowed to climb up to a a certain step outside the Eastern wall. Sir John Mondeville wrote that the Jews and Christians were "treated like dogs." Many Jewish and Christian visitors wrote about the community, among them a student of Nachmanides (1270), Rabbi Ishtori Haparchi (1322), Stephen von Gumfenberg (1449), Rabbi Meshulam from Voltara (1481) and Rabbi Ovadia Bartenura, a famous biblical commentator (1489). An account from Hakham Yishak Hilo of Larissa (Greece), who arrived in Hebron and observed Jews working in the cotton trade and glassworks. He noted that in Hebron there was an, "Ancient synagogue in which they prayed day and night in 1333.
Ottoman rule

With the advent of Ottoman Turkish rule in 1516-17, there was a violent pogrom in with many Jews were raped and killed and Jewish homes were plundered. Throughout the Ottoman Empire rule, (1517-1917), groups of Jews from other parts of the Land of Israel, and exiles from Spain and other parts of the diaspora and settled there. Hebron at this time became a center of Jewish learning. In 1540 Rabbi Malkiel Ashkenazi bought a courtyard and established the Abraham Avinu Synagogue. In 1807, the Jewish community purchased a 5-dunam plot upon which the city's wholesale market stands today. Another pogrom took place in 1834. In 1831, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt took over Hebron until 1840.

"the Shiites of Iraq who would volunteer to be martyrs on behalf of Sunnis in Palestine."

Now that you're so in tune with the "Arab Street" maybe it's time to figure out why the non-Arab Persians of Iran have decided to destroy Israel.

It's too bad you didn't do some real reporting when you were over there and speak with Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron (TIPH). TIPH�s main task is to monitor and report on misconduct by either side in the conflict. TIPH is not allowed to intervene directly in incidents and has no military or police functions. The TIPH mandate is the result of negotiations conducted by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel between 1994 and 1997.

Speaking to eight radical protesters is like going to Provincetown and doing a report on human sexuality in America.

I support your desire to report, but with you lack of objectivity and depth of knowledge, you should go back to college or something like that.

"Or I needed to see the Hagana Museum in Tel Aviv, or the Begin Museum in Jerusalem, or another of the many museums to the military ego."

"Holocaust…offered as a justification for the militarization of Israeli society."

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

"it does not seem that the Israelis have spent any real time with Arabs."

15 percent of Israeli citizens are Arab (not including East Jerusalem). Arabs are integrated into the Israeli workforce as business owners and workers and work for the government as Civil service workers. Some Arabs volunteer for the Army.

In addition, before the first intifada, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian workers making decent living in Israel.

It's too bad that you report on things that you don't understand. I guess this what the Observer is about. Go New York Sun- a paper with factual, objective reporting.

Sometimes these comments make me chuckle, sometimes not. But this little parting shot made me laugh out loud.

His biased reporting makes him a loose cannon on ship that already doesn't know where it's going…

The Observer's, accuracy cannot be trusted- not a good thing for a newspaper.

The editorial staff is responsible. It's no wonder the paper is a big money loser.

They have a Jayson Blair on their hands and don't seem to realize it. As a matter of fact the similarities are glaring- an egotist with a chip-on-his shoulder.

Great reporting from Hebron.

Let us get sober.

Short of expelling all Isralis from Israel, or to oppress and compress all Palestinians into a mini-state, the next best solution is mixed/assimilated/enlightened state for former Israelis and Palestinians.

I can confirm from personal experience, the hostility of the young and old Israelis in Kiryat Arba and Hebron against the Palestinians. Not hidden, if you understood Hebrew.

The Israeli settlers and the Palestinians need lots of Enlightenment.