Archbishop Desmond Tutu: if he were still with us, he’d probably be covering his ears to block out the lies being said about him now that he’s gone.
This Writer was genuinely saddened to learn of the passing of the great Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
I remember when he was at the forefront of the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa – a struggle that ended the stranglehold of the white supremacist National Party over the nation and ended the segregation that made people of colour into second-class citizens.
In later years he turned his attention to the Israel/Palestine question, nailing his flag firmly to the mast of Palestinian rights and attacking the apartheid he saw being operated by Israel.
Oh – if you think the Israeli government isn’t operating a system of apartheid, with Palestinians as the underclass, take a look at this:
End apartheid. #FreePalestine #BDSpic.twitter.com/1TXtz9GAmo
— Supporting Humanity (@SocialistAnyDay) December 28, 2021
So isn’t it strange that The Guardian should do this:
The Guardian published an obituary for Desmond Tutu which omitted his support for Palestinian rights , naming of Israeli oppression of the Palestinians as a form of apartheid and his support for BDS. It then deleted people's comments on its website highlighting this omission.
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) December 27, 2021
Meanwhile, apologists for the atrocities being perpetrated in Israel have merrily stepped into the gap and declared that Archbishop Tutu was an anti-Semite, based on hot air and fantasy:
But the mainstream media will never discuss mendacity like this. It would have ten years ago though.https://t.co/P77XieJEWL
— Question Everything #StarmerOut (@CasperBryson) December 28, 2021
Normally I might be urging you to write a complaint to The Guardian, but you don’t have to: that great campaigner against anti-Semitism lies, Tony Greenstein, has already written one:
Tony Greenstein's Blog: Open Letter to the Guardian's Editor Kath Viner & its Zionist Gatekeeper, Jonathan Freedland https://t.co/FrAQhJpaml
— Jackie Walker – HRH, MP, MBE, ABC (@Jackiew80333500) December 28, 2021
He makes a very good point:
When people pay a tribute to someone and deliberately, for unspoken political reasons, excise a part of their life, they end up saying more about themselves than their subject.
To do all these things and distort someone’s life, because it’s politically inconvenient to tell the truth, and is at variance with the Guardian’s editorial line, is not merely dishonest but politically odious. It suggests that the tribute you paid to Archbishop Tutu’s struggle against Apartheid is just hot air. Pious and empty words aimed at convincing your readers that you retain some integrity.
We all know the reasons for the Guardian’s dilemmas. You spent five years demonising Jeremy Corbyn and the Left as ‘anti-Semites’. You lost no opportunity to portray people who were opposed to apartheid as racists. Even worse you did it in the company of genuine racists and anti-Semites.
The omission of any mention of Desmond Tutu’s longstanding support for the Palestinians was not accidental, an unfortunate oversight but a deliberate editorial decision. We know this because a critical comment from Professor David Mond, who pointed this out, was deleted by the Guardian. It did not accord with your ‘community standards.’ Likewise two comments from Mark Seddon, the former Editor of Tribune, were also deleted.
Of course you did not want to mention Tutu’s position on Palestine. Tutu’s opposition to Israeli apartheid routinely attracted cries of ‘anti-Semitism’ from those who refuse to understand that opposing the Israeli state for what it does is not the same as hostility to Jew.
I fully understand your dilemma. The Guardian has spent so much of its time making false accusations of anti-Semitism that you don’t know how to handle the legacy of someone who, according to your definition, was anti-Semitic. Desmond Tutu was an opponent of apartheid in all its forms.
That seems an excellent summary of the situation.
And by creating it, The Guardian has created an opportunity to smear the name of a great man.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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