Banning Desmond Tutu
Alright, anything I ever said regarding the purported liberal bias of American universities during the visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can apparently be thrown right out the f***ing window.
Back in April, when University of St. Thomas staffer Mike Klein informed his colleagues in the Justice and Peace Studies program that he'd succeeded in booking Archbishop Desmond Tutu for a campus appearance, the faculty buzzed in anticipation. For a program dedicated to fostering social change and nonviolence, there were few figures who embodied that vision more aptly than the world-renowned civil rights activist and Nobel Laureate.
. . .
But 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."
. . .
That was news to Marv Davidov, an adjunct professor within the Justice and Peace Studies program.
"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."
This by itself would be bad enough, and a pretty foul indictment on the level of free speech allowed in the US on issues of a controversial nature, but the next part is truly ugly if what it implies turns out to be the case.
The controversy didn't end there. Incensed at the administration's decision, Professor Cris Toffolo—chair of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the time—sent Tutu a letter on May 24 informing him of the administration's decision. She also indicated her disagreement with the move and warned Tutu that he might be in for a smear campaign.
University brass caught wind of the letter, and on August 1, Tom Rochon, executive vice president of academic affairs, sent a letter of his own to Toffolo informing her that St. Thomas administrators had decided to revoke her position as chair of the Justice and Peace Studies program.
This is reprehensible. Shutting down a speech by a Nobel Laureate just because he has criticized the Israeli government is a painful reminder of just how easy it is for a vocal pressure group to shut down debate on critical topics.
Ahmadinejad was allowed to speak, but was roundly criticized and ridiculed, and nobody of consequence was going to take what he said seriously in any case. Anything he said against Israel can be dismissed as the rantings of a lunatic. Archbishop Tutu is a whole other problem. He has the kind of credibility most people, even world leaders, can only dream of. Any criticisms he makes are going to be taken seriously.
The fact that he can be stopped from making an appearance at a university is indicative of just how badly skewed the US is in regards to Israeli issues. The blinders need to come off.
