[WCUSP] Bishop Tutu barred by university in Minnesota b/c of criticism of Israel

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

Cecilie Surasky: Archbishop Tutu barred by U. of St Thomas because of  
criticism of Israel

http://www.muzzlewatch.com/?p=257

Rumors  have been circulating for some time that Archbishop Desmond Tutu 
was banned  by the University of St Thomas in Minnesota because of 
statements he made  that some consider anti-Semitic. Now it's official: 
winning the Nobel Peace  Prize doesn't protect you from charges of 
anti-Semitism if you criticize  Israeli human rights practices. Neither, 
apparently, does being one of the  most compelling voices for social 
justice in the world today, or even  getting an honorary degree from and 
giving the commencement address at  Brandeis.


Minneapolis/St.Paul's City Pages just reported that members  of the St 
Thomas Justice and Peace Studies program were thrilled when Bishop  Tutu 
agreed to speak at the University- but administrators did a scientific  
survey of the Jews of Minneapolis, which included querying exactly one  
spokesperson for Minnesota's Jewish Community Relations Council and  
several rabbis who taught in a University program- and concluded that  
Tutu is bad for the Jews and should therefore be barred from  campus.

...in a move that still has faculty members shaking their heads  in 
disbelief, St. Thomas administrators--concerned that Tutu's appearance  
might offend local Jews--told organizers that a visit from the  
archbishop was out of the question.

"We had heard some things he said  that some people judged to be 
anti-Semitic and against Israeli policy," says  Doug Hennes, St. 
Thomas's vice president for university and government  relations. "We're 
not saying he's anti-Semitic. But he's compared the state  of Israel to 
Hitler and our feeling was that making moral equivalencies like  that 
are hurtful to some members of the Jewish community."

St. Thomas  officials made this inference after Hennes talked to 
Julie Swiler, a  spokeswoman for the Jewish Community Relations Council 
of Minnesota and the  Dakotas.

"I told him that I'd run across some statements that were of  
concern to me," says Swiler. "In a 2002 speech in Boston, he made some  
comments that were especially hurtful."

Just to send the message  home, Swiler says

"I think there's a consensus in the Jewish community  that his words 
were offensive."

To be clear here, Swiler and the  other rabbis have the right to say 
whatever they think, though representing  those opinions, as Swiler 
does, as a Jewish consensus, is  laughable.

Ultimately, groups like Minnesota's JCRC, the right wing  fringe group 
Zionist Organization of America, and the increasingly  embarrassing 
Anti-Defamation League, who have all attacked Tutu for his  criticism of 
Israeli policies, will face the consequences of smearing Tutu  -a hero 
to millions and leader of a movement that was known for the  massively 
disproportionate involvement of numerous South African  Jews.

But it's the craven behavior of the administrators of St. Thomas  that 
will likely be a mark of shame for years to come. While it's  
understandable, given the Church's history of virulent anti-Semitism,  
that a Catholic institution would be extra sensitive about relations  
with Jews, it's not clear here that there was any real pressure to cave  
in to. Did groups threaten to picket? Who knows what administrators 
were  thinking?

Regardless, the backlash has already begun. Marv Davidov, an  adjunct 
professor within the Justice and Peace Studies program  said:

"As a Jew who experienced real anti-Semitism as a child, I'm deeply  
disturbed that a man like Tutu could be labeled anti-Semitic and  
silenced like this," he says. "I deeply resent the Israeli lobby trying  
to silence any criticism of its policy. It does a great disservice to  
Israel and to all Jews."

To make matters worse, when Cris Toffolo,  the chair of the Justice and 
Peace Studies program told Tutu what happened  and warned him of a 
possible smear campaign, she was immediately  demoted.

Davidov again:

"This is pure bullshit," says Davidov. "As  far as fighting for 
civil rights, I consider Tutu to be my brother. And I  consider Cris 
Toffolo to be my sister. They're messing with my family here.  If 
Columbia permits a Holocaust denier [Iranian President Mahmoud  
Ahmadinejad] to speak at their university, why are St. Thomas officials  
refusing to let Tutu, an apostle of nonviolence, speak at  ours?"

"What happened at the University of St. Thomas is not an isolated  
event," says Toffolo. "Until we have an honest debate about U.S. policy  
related to Israel, and about Israeli policy in the Occupied 
Territories,  the spiral of violence will continue."

Why Tutu? Why now? Are his  statements anti-Semitic?

Bishop Tutu is closely associated with Sabeel, a  Jerusalem based 
Christian liberation theology organization started by  Palestinian 
Anglican pastor Rev. Naim Ateek. Sabeel is "an international  peace 
movement initiated by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land who seek  
a just peace based on two states-Palestine and Israel-as defined by  
international law and existing United Nations resolutions."The group,  
and founder Naim Ateek in particular, have come under considerable  
attack by mainstream Jewish organizations that see their influence on  
domestic Christian organizations as a threat.

Sabeel works with local  Christian partners to hold conferences in major 
cities across the United  States. To the consternation of many, Bishop 
Tutu will be the featured  speaker in late October at the Boston Sabeel 
conference. The conference  title? "The Apartheid Paradigm in 
Palestine-Israel:Issues of Justice and  Equality."

Members of my group, Jewish Voice for Peace, have spoken at a  handful 
of Sabeel conferences, and our Boston chapter is sponsoring a peace  
walk at the Boston conference.

As one JVP colleague who participated  in several Sabeel conferences 
told me, she believed that Naim Atteek was  guilty, at most, at times of 
being unaware of Jewish sensitivities around  using certain Christian 
theological language (in fact, she publicly  challenged him on this 
issue), but that he is ultimately advocating for a  nonviolent 
resolution that recognizes the humanity and rights of both Jews  and 
Palestinians. Of that, she has no doubt. (There are, to be sure, plenty  
of Palestinian sensitivities around language as well, though there is  
little interest among leaders of a variety of faiths in learning what  
those might be.)
Interestingly, the same can perhaps be said for Bishop  Tutu, whose 2002 
Sabeel speech seems to be the primary evidence offered for  the 
cancellation of his talk. It's impossible to convey the spirit of his  
talk by quoting only bits and pieces, so read it. Read the whole thing,  
especially the part cited by St. Thomas' Doug Hennes where he says Tutu  
compared Israel to Hitler.

The talk is notable for its philo-Semitism  and its equally passionate 
condemnation of Israel's occupation of  Palestinian land and people. For 
anyone who has been to the Occupied  Territories, let alone lived 
through it, his words of condemnation are  impossible to argue with. His 
language is challenging in part because it is  imbued with the 
disappointment of a Christian raised to look up to Jews, and  the 
heartache of an anti-apartheid leader who was once buoyed by passionate  
Jewish support. He struggles to make sense of the checkpoints, the home  
demolitions, the land confiscations, done by a state that says it  
represents the very same people.

What is clear is that he at times  uses language loosely without 
understanding how it might hurt or offend us  Jews. Does that make him 
an anti-Semite? Of course not. Should he be banned  for using a term 
like "Jewish lobby" that makes many of us uncomfortable?  Are you 
kidding?

Tutu never wavers in expressing his love of and hope  for peace and 
security for both peoples. "Peace based on justice," Tutu  says, "is 
possible. We will do all we can to assist you to achieve this  peace, 
because it is God's dream, and you will be able to live amicably  
together as sisters and brothers. "



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