Human Rights Activist Takes on Tutu

Yesterday’s Cape Argus has an article from Simon Deng in response to the speech that Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave at Boston’s Old South Church at a conference on “Israel Apartheid”. Simon Deng is an escaped jihad slave from Southern Sudan and is today a leading human rights activist.

Late last month I went to hear Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu speak at Boston s Old South Church at a conference on “Israel Apartheid”. […] The State of Israel is not an apartheid state. I know because I write this from Jerusalem where I have seen Arab mothers peacefully strolling with their families, even though I also drove on Israeli roads protected by walls and fences from Arab bullets and stones. I know Arabs go to Israeli schools and get the best medical care in the world. I know they vote and have elected representatives to the Israeli Parliament. I see street signs in Arabic - an official language here. None of this was true for blacks under apartheid. I also know countries that do deserve the apartheid label. My country Sudan is on the top of the list, but so are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. What has happened to people in Sudan is a thousand times worse than apartheid in South Africa. And no matter how the Palestinians suffer, they suffer nothing compared to my people. Most of the suffering is the fault of their leaders. Archbishop Tutu, I see black Jews walking down the street here in Jerusalem. Black like us, free and proud.

Comments

[Benjamin]

"Archbishop Tutu, I see black Jews walking down the street here in Jerusalem. Black like us, free and proud."

As far as I am aware Tutu has never taken the position that Israel is racist towards black people. This section of the letter misses his arguments altogether (I haven't been able to read the whole letter it wants me to subscribe). Tutu's comparison is with the Israeli settlements. Tutu does not claim that every aspect of Apartheid is true of Israel. If you are going to critique Tutu you should argue against his actual positions, not a straw man. Found here:
Apartheid in the Holy Land
in wikipedia - On Israel and relationship with the Jewish community

While looking up the links I found this quote by Tutu and, although it has nothing to do with this, I thought it was too funny not to share.

"When missionaries came to South Africa, we had the land, they had the Bible. Then they told us, 'Let's close our eyes and pray.' When we opened our eyes we saw that we have the Bible, they have the land."

[Steve]

haha, great quote Benjamin.

You are spot on, I agree with your points. The full article by Deng goes on to criticise Tutu about his silence on Sudan, but in fact, Tutu has not been silent on Sudan.

His response has its failings, but still interesting to see in the local media.

[Gary]

Benjamin wrote that " Tutu's comparison is with the Israeli settlements".
If there is any analogy regarding Aparthied here, it is the fact that the Arabs want the West Bank to be completely Judenreihn (I assume you know what that means, Ben) while Arabs can continue to live anywhere in the Holy Land, even for millions of Arabs to flood into lesser Israel (under the Orwellian named "Right of Return") after the Arabs have got their Judenreihn Arab state, and then to make the rest of the Holy Land judenreighn.

[Steve]

Whatever the case may be, his speech was really horrible and very patronising towards Judaism.

Unfortunately he has naught to offer to peacemaking.

[Gary]

Tutu has being making anti-semitic speeches since 1984.
He is clearly a Jew-hater extraodinaire and you would have to be deaf and blind to deny it.

[Lawrence]

Tutu exhibits the worst characteristics of Leftist Jew-hatred, his silence on Muslim hatred and fascist terror against Jews is deafening.

Just one sample quote re Israel "Remembering what happened to you in Egypt and much more recently in Germany -- remember and act accordingly."

In other words submit to the Ummah or die in the millions. What else can it mean?

there are plenty more where that came from.

He is a Jew-hater through and through.