Tutu and Palestine
JVL Introduction
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was one of Palestine’s greatest friends, His unswerving commitment to the Palestinian cause was widely valued, especially in Palestine and South Africa.
In addition to our own Farewell Desmond Tutu tribute we post here two short appreciations, one from South Africa, the other from Palestine.
The first is from #Africa4Palestine, a human rights organisation lending solidarity and support to the Palestinian people (and their progressive Jewish Israeli allies) living under Israeli occupation.
The second is from the BDS movement for Palestinian rights, conveying “its deepest condolences to South Africans, to Palestinians, and to all humans for the departure of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a true prophet of justice and peace”.
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5.35pm. We have just heard that the The Guardian has deleted a post from Prof David Mond (Warwick) which expressed disappointment that the obituary on Desmond Tutu made no reference to the Archbishop’s support for Palestine and his comparison of Israeli policies to SA Apartheid. It was deleted five minutes after being submitted on the grounds that “it didn’t abide by our community standards”.
Shameful!
PRESS STATEMENT – 26 December 2021
Africa4Palestine mourns the loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“We and the Palestinians have lost an indomitable fighter, a courageous leader and a moral icon without equal. We are bereft of a prophet who consistently warned against ideas of cheap peace which may come without justice. I am immensely grateful for having travelled and worked with the Archbishop in the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa, in solidarity with the Palestinians against Israeli occupation and in supporting various other causes. His boundless love, his wit and humour and his unflinching and principled commitment to a better world will always inspire us”.
ISSUED BY TISTESO MAGAMA ON BEHALF OF AFRICA4PALESTINE
On 24 December the BDS Movement tweeted:
The BDS movement for Palestinian rights conveys its deepest condolences to South Africans, to Palestinians, and to all humans for the departure of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a true prophet of justice and peace.
Prof David Mond(Warwick) was not alone, in being censored, by The Guardian.
Mark Seddon – Director, Centre for UN Studies, University of Buckingham. Former Speechwriter, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, former UN correspondent, Al Jazeera TV – was ‘modded’ – twice – on the same thread.
Guardian Censorship!
Professor David Mond’s post was not the only one deleted. Mine with a similar message to his was also deleted as were several others writing about the glaring omission regarding Tutu’s condemnation of Israeli apartheid.
Here is an example of one frustrated poster – soon deleted again after this second attempt.
“Would someone post the following words of Tutu himself? (I fear I am now banned). Let’s see if Tutu himself is taken down by our beacon of freedom and decency.”
Well done for publication of this
Here is what Prof Mond submitted:
I just posted a comment on the Guardian obituary of Desmond Tutu. It said
“It’s a pity that this fine obituary makes no mention of Desmond Tutu’s stand on Israel and Palestine. He was uniquely well-place to judge whether Israel’s policies in the OPT amounted to apartheid. The fact that he said they did made an important contribution to the struggle for justice in Palestine.”
Five minutes later, the comment was deleted:
“This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our community standards.
Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.”
The Guardian loves quoting CP Scott; “Comment is free, but facts are sacred”. It is a fact that Archbishop Tutu supported the Palestinian struggle and the BDS movement. This fact ceased to be sacred when it clashed with the sort of comments favoured by Guardian columnists and editors. They addressed this problem by re-labelling their opinions as ‘community standards’. One wonders whether they can really cite Scott with a straight face.
Bishop Tutu spoke passionately about issues in Israel and Palestine. But he never used abusive or insulting language. I remember one of the Marches in Cape Town. ( I think 2010 ) I was visiting a relatives shop as The March came to its end next to St Georges Cathedral. Some of the placards and chants like “ Hitler was Right” did not go unnoticed by Bishop Tutu. He gave them a mouthful of his clear disgust and disapproval. The same placards were on display at a London Rally. They were simply ignored by the main speakers, including Jeremy Corbyn. Maybe they just did not see or hear them! I doubt if Tutu would have had any association with The Rev Sizer or appeared on Iranian Press TV.
I shall especially remember his compassion for all the victims and witnesses at The Truth and Reconciliation hearings. It was heart wrenching .He had many friends in the local Jewish Community including those in CT Zionist organisations. He was very critical of Israel Govt policies, but he was certainly not against the idea of Israel. I also remember his warm friendship with family members ( relatives of Ethel de Keyser and Jack Tarshish ) including those who visited CT from Israel. He was genuinely warm and considerate to all people including those who he may have profoundly disagreed with. I am fortunate to be in Cape Town now and It was a lovely gesture to see Table Mountain bathed in his ecclesiastical colours.
When the Chinese government decides to remove a monument to the Tianamen massacre in Hong Kong – and erase all mention of what happened in Beijing in April 1989 – the Guardian knows exactly the right word: censorship.
When the Guardian removes all mention of Desmond Tutu’s support for the Palestinians in their struggle against israeli apartheid, it is called “community standards”.
Xi Jinping couldn’t have put it better.
People of conscience should boycott the Guardian. It’s as difficult as boycotting Amazon, but just as necessary.
I have avoided the heavy price of the Guardian of Hypocrisy for many years.
The Guardian’s two-faced and one-sided ‘community standards’ are of course a euphemism for its compliance with the establishment media dictate of not normally allowing any criticisms of the many bad things about Israel.
Guardian’s actions shameful, but at least some response to being called out. Boycott? What’s the alternative? Times/Torygraph? For (fairly) balanced view on Isreal/Palestine with articles Grauniad would not dare touch, try Ha’aretz. Incidentally, what’s difficult about boycotting Amazon? Admit are taking over world by stealth; Ring and Abe Books spring to mind, but other sources available.