Bishop Tutu No, Anne Coulter Yes: WTF?

A friend of mine sent me a disturbing article this morning about the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. They have actually banned Bishop Tutu from speaking there, and transferred the woman who invited him. Apparently, two years ago they were perfectly happy to have Anne Coulter speak on campus.

If our academic institutions have devolved to this extent, we are in big, big trouble.

For the record, Bishop Tutu will be speaking at Metropolitan University instead.

What was the reason the University of St. Thomas gave? The Bishop disagrees with Israel's policy on the Palestinians.

Read more on this below.

This story was covered today in a few media outlets. That UST retaliated against the faculty member who tried to arrange the talk for next spring is outrageous as well.

Here is an excerpt from today's article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

A plan to invite Desmond Tutu to speak at the University of St. Thomas next year was scuttled by university officials who did not want to offend the Jewish community over the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, university officials confirmed Wednesday.

In addition, Cris Toffolo, an associate professor who supported inviting the South African archbishop and activist was removed as director of the St. Paul university's justice and peace studies program in August.
She remains on the faculty.

So, a professor is removed from a nice post for arranging a speaking engagement by one of the world's elder statesmen and religious figures, and spokesman for peace? Jimmy Carter doesn't agree with Israel's policy either, so I guess he would be banned from speaking at the University as well.

But not Anne Coulter. She was invited to spew her sociopathic venom at UST just two years ago, according to the friend sent me the email.

Democracy Now has a headline article on this today. Here's part of it:

School officials say they’re barring Tutu because of previous statements he’s made "against Israeli policy." Tutu has compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories to South Africa under apartheid. St. Thomas professor Marv Davidov said: "As a Jew who experienced real anti-Semitism as a child, I’m deeply disturbed that a man like Tutu could be labeled anti-Semitic and silenced like this. I deeply resent the Israeli lobby trying to silence any criticism of its policy. It does a great disservice to Israel and to all Jews."

This is just shameful. I know plenty of people who disagree with Israel's policy, and many of them are Jewish. Have we gone so far in stifling dissent in this country that one of the major political figures and forces for peace of our time must also be muzzled? And the professor who tried to arrange the visit retaliated against? WTF is this?

UST alumni, I hope you will have something to say about this.