Patch Blog: What's Missing in Reverend Tutu's Great March

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu once visited the Eagle Rock area; I think he gave lectures at Occidental.

He is recently in the news again. He had planned a Global March to protest Israel's policies and actions toward the Palestinians. 

My guess is that there aren't many residents in Eagle Rock who haven't a strong opinion about the Middle East conflict. Amidst the smoke and mirrors, I want to clarify some of the issues.

"The Global March boasted it would gather hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Arabs, Muslims and Western ‘human rights activists’ to overcome the Israelites in their capital and claim it for the Arabs,” observes an op-ed article in today’s Times of Israel newspaper. “In the minds of some marchers, surely, it would be a step toward casting the cruel Jews into the sea."

The peace community has honored Archbishop Tutu many times with society's highest honors. He deserves our respect. In his concern for the Palestinians, we see that, once again, compassion is an important part of his faith. I, too, wish to see no innocents hurt.

I would hope and pray that others are included in the scope of his compassion as well.

I’m no expert on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but I believe the Reverend has too one-sided an approach. Remember that the Palestinian "problem" originated when Arabs refused a state offered by the United Nations and seven Arab states attacked an outnumbered Israel. And even more Jewish refugees fled Arab lands in the aftermath.

So, rather than a blanket condemnation that ignores history and that prolongs abuses on both sides, I would hope the Reverend might also join hands with Jews to work for real peace. That is what most Israelis want—a secure state, a democratic state, free of terrorism. Who wouldn’t.

Archbishop, would you deny Israelis their right to safety and security?

Reverend, we have been partners before. Jews in South Africa were far more active in opposing South African Apartheid than their numbers would suggest.

During South African Apartheid, many Jews stood in the front lines to defeat that cruel policy. Of the 150 activists charged in the 1956 Treason Trial, 23 were whites and of the 23 whites, 14 were Jews. All the whites arrested at Lilliesleaf farm—were Jewish. Yet, they were only 3 percent of the white population. “That people of Jewish descent should be so prominent in the liberation movement says something fundamental about the compassion of Judaism,” Kgalema Motlanthe, secretary general of the African National Congress, has been quoted as saying

As before, we are better united than split.

Is the Reverend truly interested in peace? Or, is there perhaps a different—an emotional “agenda?” Only Mr. Tutu can know what is in his heart. But if the answer is “peace,” perhaps he would like to join with the many human rights groups in Israel that are also concerned about just policies of the Israeli government regarding the Palestinians.

There are three things that the Reverend should keep in mind. The first is that there are many “activists” in Israel. He would have company. His prestige would lend support to these efforts without alienating one side— namely the Israelis—by working with them.

Second, rather that exposing all of Israel to violence, a prospect that I trust the Reverend abhors, he might encourage the Palestinian militant group Hamas to change its inflexible charter, which calls for the total destruction of the Jews in Israel. That’s how Hamas would settle the question. Reverend Tutu can justly be proud that the ANC charter for his country is diametrically opposed to such violence.

Third, the Reverend can support Israel in a critical, ongoing humanitarian crisis playing out right now in Africa. Here’s what a recent report on African refugees quoted in the above-mentioned Times of Israel op-ed has to say:

“Seeking refuge from war and oppression, Africans from Eritrea and Sudan today pay Arabs to guide them toward the land of Israel. They often wind up serving Egyptian masters as cruel as [the] Pharaoh himself. As you read this, international aid agencies, Arab news services and Israeli human rights groups are reporting the capture, torture, extortion, rape and murder of these African wanderers. Four Israeli groups—Combat Genocide, Kav LaOved (Workers’ Hot Line), Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention—have interviewed latter-day escapees from bondage in Sinai who have found refuge in Israel. Reading victim testimonies collected by the physicians’ group is heartbreaking.” 

The Archbishop should join in defending the victims. Perhaps he is concerned—having heard the vicious screeds—that Israel is racist. Not to worry: If it were racist, why did Israel airlift 42,000 black Ethiopian Jews to Israel from 1984 through 1991?

The recent refugees from Africa will be free to practice their own religion in Israel—even though it may not be Judaism. Remember that Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East that practices religious tolerance.

It’s easy to criticize. But what's the point? Life is too short. One of my favorite sayings is, “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” Look at each violation (on either side) and work to make it right. Reverend Tutu, if you are reading this (fat chance!) please consider my suggestions, respectfully offered.

P.S.: The “Great Global March” was a flop. And leading the protest against Reverend Tutu's demonstration were two African refugees from the Sudan. They, too, deserve our respect.