Brian J. Brown, a Methodist minister who was banned in his native South Africa in 1977 for anti-apartheid work, writes that apartheid in Israel/Palestine is in many ways more brutal than it was in his country, including checkpoints and barriers and expulsions. His new book says that recognition of that apartheid and total opposition to it is mandatory for any person or church that claims to follow Christian teachings.
Last week, Palestinian Christians paid tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died in December last year. The prayer service was held where Tutu prayed when he visited Beit Sahour in 1989.
The elites are finally not afraid to take on the Palestinian issue as shown by an overwhelming vote to condemn Israeli “apartheid,” passed by the convention of Washington, D.C., Episcopalians last week. “We will not make people happy with this resolution, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do,” said Rev. Michelle Morgan, rector of St. Mark’s Church, Capitol Hill.
The western leaders who praise Desmond Tutu are ignoring a central legacy. His brief tours of Palestinian communities aching under the weight of Israeli tyranny quickly led him to condemn Israeli apartheid. His understanding of the essence of the Christian message as one that actively sides with the downtrodden drove him to support the Palestinian boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu used his moral stature to call out and oppose Israeli apartheid, but the U.S. media seem embarrassed about this information. NPR completely leaves it out, while the New York Times and Washington Post and PBS News Hour bury it.
“We and the Palestinians have lost an indomitable fighter, a courageous leader and a moral icon without equal,” says Africa4Palestine Board Member, Professor Farid Esack remembering Archbishop Desmond Tutu who passed away on December 26 at the age of 90.
The United Church of Christ will hold its general synod in Cleveland June 26-30 and consider a divestment resolution targeting the Israeli occupation. Today Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu issued a statement supporting the resolution.
Jewish Voices for a Just Peace is a new South African org that is seeking official action against a Jewish leader who likened Archbishop Tutu to Hitler because of his criticisms of Israel.
A cartoon making Desmond Tutu into Hitler has been taken down by the South African Jewish Report newspaper, as has been a piece saying, “Just as it was more important for Hitler to kill Jews than to protect the fatherland in the last days of the war so it is more important for Tutu to kill Jews rather to protect his fellow Christians.” Tutu’s crime? Supporting BDS.