Israel Lobby strikes again: MN College bans Archbishop Tutu From Talk On Peace and Justice

[Larkspur]

Minnesota College Bans Nobel Laureate Tutu From Talk On Peace and Justice

Last week’s visit by Iran’s president to Columbia University symbolized to many the openness of American higher education to hearing controversial ideas and individuals. An incident coming to light at the University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota, illustrates that some speakers are denied campus platforms. In this case, the would-be speaker isn’t a Holocaust denier. Nor does he run a government that routinely denies basic civil rights to scholars, journalists or gay people.1004 03

The speaker barred at St. Thomas won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won the prize for his nonviolent opposition to South Africa’s apartheid regime, was deemed unworthy of appearing at St. Thomas because of comments he made criticizing Israel - comments the university says were “hurtful” to some Jewish people. Further, the university demoted the director of the program that invited Tutu after she wrote a letter to him and others complaining about the revocation of the invitation. (She retains a tenured faculty job.)

While the incident happened several months ago, it has only just become public, when it was reported by City Pages, the alt-weekly in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The revoked invitation has some faculty members at the university seething.

“There isn’t any academic freedom here when this happens,” said Marv Davidov, an adjunct faculty member who has taught courses about nonviolence for 15 years at the university. “This is cowardice.”

SNIP

Somewhere I hear Hermann Goering laughing at right wing pro-Israeli groups for using his tactics.

[TwilightGardener]

1. I wonder what his comments were? I can't imagine Tutu is anti-Semitic, but

without knowing what he said, it's hard to judge.

[yellowcanine]

2. Well Desmond Tutu is not anti-Semitic, and criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitism

any more than criticizing Bush et al. is anti American or anti Christianity.

[TwilightGardener]

3. I agree--anybody should be able to criticize Israel as a nation, without

being necessarily charged with criticizing the Jewish religion. It's just that without knowing the specific nature of his criticism of Israel, it's hard to discern if he said anything inappropriate.

[yellowcanine]

6. Having heard and read a lot of Desmond Tutu it is a safe bet for me that he is not

anti-Semitic and that he did not say anything that could be remotely construed as being anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish.

[Totally Committed]

5. He's as "Anti-Semitic" as Jimmy Carter, which is not at all, btw.

Both men are Nobel Peace Prize winners. What a loss to that college.

STOP AIPAC!

TC

[pnutbutr]

4. apartheid

Israeli jewish apartheid against Palestinians. Also some stuff about the Israeli lobby in the US. I guess that's enough to get you blocked from speaking at a university. :dunno:

[yellowcanine]

7. If that is what he said he was spot on. The Israeli practice of segregating Palestinians

and building walls around them IS not unlike the practices of the white supremecist regimes in South Africa.

[Karenina]

8. Forgive my

St. T's has been described as, erraa... formerly, "virulently anti-Semitic." So they seek out a coupla Dial-a-RW types and hold them up as representing... ya know... (all them J**s that CONTROL everything). Looks transparent to me, YMMV.

[yellowcanine]

9. Don't forget that quite a few of those pro Israel RW types were pro South African

during the bad old days of the White Supremacist government - in the interest of being anti communist of course. I am talking about Falwell et al as well as people like Novak and many of the neocons. Of course Falwell was a segregationist himself right up to the early 70s when it became politically expedient not espouse those views publicly anymore.

[Tesha]

10. IBTM(ttd) (NT)

[colbertforpresident]

11. His replacement?

Maybe they can replace him with either Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh!

[Tesha]

12. You probably meant that as a reply to the Original Post, but that's an interesting suggestion. (NT)