American Psychiatrists Go Crazy Over Tutu
This week in Honolulu Hawaii, 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave the William C. Menninger Memorial Convocation Lecture to the American Psychiatric Association despite the protests of 24 APA members. These members represent a small and shrinking group who object to Desmond Tutu’s stance on the Israeli occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians.
\Why would anyone block or protest the prophetic words of Desmond Tutu who has dedicated himself to non-violent peace-making to end racism?
Are these shrinks crazy?
In 2007 the President of Catholic University of St. Thomas Minneapolis uninvited Archbishop Desmond Tutu from a lecture he was schedule to give because the “quote” attributed to Bishop Tutu compared Israel to Hitler and Nazi Germany. This “quote” was completely fabricated by the Zionist Organization of America (which has along history of smear campaigns) and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency printed it without fact-checking. This “quote” was used by the protesting psychiatrists, throwing facts out the window for a neurotic stab at an international treasure.
Archbishop Tutu stands out from most Christian leaders not only because of his support of self determination and human rights for Palestinians – a stance few Christians will support-- he is also a hero of the antiapartheid movement; and the leader of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. There are few people in the world who have given more credibility and voice to fighting racial injustice.
In addition to the false “quote” APA members believe the Archbishop was not the right speaker for the convocation because he supports a cultural boycott of Israel as a non-violent tactic bringing attention and pressure on Israeli Government to follow international human rights laws in their treatment of Palestinians. Boycott allows artists, writers, performers to determine a course of action that directly impacts the political arena. Artists all over the world are deciding to decline invitations to perform or publish in Israel. This non-violent act of resistance to a horrible injustice creates a critical mass of opposition without physically hurting anyone, without one drop of bloodshed.
As an American Jew, I support non-violent tactics to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, like the recently held peaceful march organized by Palestinians to mark the founding of Israel and the simultaneous tragedy for Palestinians called the Nakba. In 1947, 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and over 750,000 Palestinians were displaced during the founding.
I don’t want one more person, Israeli or Palestinian to be hurt, killed or imprisoned. I don't want one more day when Palestinians go through checkpoints, not another day when ancient olive trees are destroyed, not another day where Palestinian land is taken and homes demolished, not another day when food is scarce and the lack of medical resources kills another Palestinian.
In fact I don’t object to the APA members boycott of Desmond Tutu. I support their boycott for exactly the same reason I support Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the hundreds of artists who have boycotted Israel. I do object to the APA members maligning Bishop Tutu with unfounded “quotes” and for using him as a proxy for their own pro-Israeli agenda.
There is no reason to object to Archbishop Tutu’s message of ending racial injustice unless you are involved in perpetrating racial injustice and you feel exposed. Is that’s what’s going on—are the psychiatrists projecting?
\Why would anyone block or protest the prophetic words of Desmond Tutu who has dedicated himself to non-violent peace-making to end racism?
Are these shrinks crazy?
In 2007 the President of Catholic University of St. Thomas Minneapolis uninvited Archbishop Desmond Tutu from a lecture he was schedule to give because the “quote” attributed to Bishop Tutu compared Israel to Hitler and Nazi Germany. This “quote” was completely fabricated by the Zionist Organization of America (which has along history of smear campaigns) and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency printed it without fact-checking. This “quote” was used by the protesting psychiatrists, throwing facts out the window for a neurotic stab at an international treasure.
Archbishop Tutu stands out from most Christian leaders not only because of his support of self determination and human rights for Palestinians – a stance few Christians will support-- he is also a hero of the antiapartheid movement; and the leader of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. There are few people in the world who have given more credibility and voice to fighting racial injustice.
In addition to the false “quote” APA members believe the Archbishop was not the right speaker for the convocation because he supports a cultural boycott of Israel as a non-violent tactic bringing attention and pressure on Israeli Government to follow international human rights laws in their treatment of Palestinians. Boycott allows artists, writers, performers to determine a course of action that directly impacts the political arena. Artists all over the world are deciding to decline invitations to perform or publish in Israel. This non-violent act of resistance to a horrible injustice creates a critical mass of opposition without physically hurting anyone, without one drop of bloodshed.
As an American Jew, I support non-violent tactics to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, like the recently held peaceful march organized by Palestinians to mark the founding of Israel and the simultaneous tragedy for Palestinians called the Nakba. In 1947, 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and over 750,000 Palestinians were displaced during the founding.
I don’t want one more person, Israeli or Palestinian to be hurt, killed or imprisoned. I don't want one more day when Palestinians go through checkpoints, not another day when ancient olive trees are destroyed, not another day where Palestinian land is taken and homes demolished, not another day when food is scarce and the lack of medical resources kills another Palestinian.
In fact I don’t object to the APA members boycott of Desmond Tutu. I support their boycott for exactly the same reason I support Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the hundreds of artists who have boycotted Israel. I do object to the APA members maligning Bishop Tutu with unfounded “quotes” and for using him as a proxy for their own pro-Israeli agenda.
There is no reason to object to Archbishop Tutu’s message of ending racial injustice unless you are involved in perpetrating racial injustice and you feel exposed. Is that’s what’s going on—are the psychiatrists projecting?
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