Tutu refusal brings St. Thomas ethics into question

by Dennis Geisinger

The University of St. Thomas has once again been faced with its own ethics, rejecting a proposal made by its Justice and Peace Studies program to invite Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at Peace Jam, an annual event that it has co-sponsored several times in the past with the nonprofit group, youthrive. Tutu’s rejection was based on what were perceived by St. Thomas’s administration as the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate’s anti-Semitic views.

The perception is most probably based on remarks that Tutu made during a speech in the United States in 2002 after he had been to Palestine, saying he was “very deeply distressed” by the visit and that “it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.” A report of the speech appeared in England’s “Guardian” newspaper under the title, “Tutu Condemns Israeli ‘Apartheid’.”

Tenured associate professor of political science, Chris Toffolo, was removed from her position as Executive Director of Justice and Peace Studies this summer after the Tutu invite was made at a Peace Jam planning event earlier in the spring. She currently retains her faculty position at St. Thomas.

“She was removed by Thomas Rochon, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, because of a personnel matter,” said University News Service Director Jim Winterer. “And yes, she would have been involved in that,” Winterer said about Toffolo’s input in Peace Jam’s speaker selection.

“The University has never said that Archbishop Tutu is anti-Semitic,” said Winterer. “We have always had close ties to the Jewish community. Our Jay Phillips Center has fostered greater understanding between Christians and Jews for more than a decade,” said Winterer.

“I don’t know of any Jewish groups that are big charitable contributors,” Winter responded when asked about financial influences on St. Thomas. “And I wouldn’t characterize St. Thomas as being in the end-of-times camp,” he said of the support some fundamentalist Christians have for Israel as an instrument in their beliefs about the final destruction of the world.

As far as the final decision about Tutu’s invitation to Peace Jam, Winterer said, “I’m sure it was discussed by our administration.”

In a letter sent by local Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) member, Margaret Sarfehjooy to St. Thomas President Dennis Dease, Sarfehjooy asks, “Would the University be open to a presentation by former U.S. President Carter concerning his recent book, ‘Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid’?”

Included in St. Thomas’s mission statement is a conviction for the pursuit of truth: “We value intellectual inquiry as a life-long habit, the unfettered and impartial pursuit of truth in all its forms, the integration of knowledge across disciplines, and the imaginative and creative exploration of new ideas.”

Metropolitan State University has since picked up co-sponsorship of next year’s Peace Jam where Tutu will indeed appear.