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(AP) - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu won't be
speaking at the University of St. Thomas in April because school
officials are worried his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
would offend the Jewish community, a school official said.

      And an associate professor who pushed for Tutu's visit has been
removed as director the university's justice and peace studies
program.

      The Rev. Dennis Dease, St. Thomas' president, decided not to
invite Tutu after talking with his staff, said Doug Hennes, vice
president for university and government relations.

      "He (Tutu) has been critical of Israel and Israeli policy
regarding the Palestinians, so we talked with people in the Jewish
community and they said they believed it would be hurtful to the
Jewish community, because of things he's said," Hennes said.

      Hennes said the university does not believe Tutu is
anti-Semitic. But Hennes cited a 2002 speech in which he said Tutu
criticized "the Jewish lobby." 

Hennes also said Jewish groups
feel Tutu has compared the Israeli policy toward Palestinians to
how Adolf Hitler treated Jews.

      Julie Swiler, public affairs director for the Jewish Community
Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, said she told St.
Thomas officials that Tutu's remarks were hurtful to Jews. In
addition to comparing Jews to Hitler, the speech "questions Jewish
faithfulness to God," she said.

      In his speech, Tutu said he supported the existence of the state
of Israel, but compared the treatment of Palestinians to that of
blacks under South African apartheid. He also criticized demolition
of Palestinian homes if Israeli authorities suspected a family
member was a terrorist.

      Tutu said he wasn't criticizing Jewish people, but the Israeli
government.

      "The apartheid government was very powerful, but we said to
them, 'Watch it,'" he said in the speech in Boston. "If you flout
laws of this universe, you're going to bite the dust. Hitler was
powerful. (Josef) Stalin was powerful. Idi Amin was powerful.

      "A lie, injustice, oppression, those will never prevail in this
world of God," he said.

      Marv Davidov, a peace activist and teacher at St. Thomas, was
dismayed with the university's decision.

      "I am Jewish, and stifling debate and dissent (and) criticism
of Israel is a disservice to all Jews, the state of Israel and the
American people," he said.

      A leader of the international group that was to sponsor the
visit also disagreed with the decision.


      "This is a tragedy for the entire community of Minneapolis-St.
Paul and indeed for the entire state of Minnesota," said Ivan
Suvanjieff, president and co-founder of Colorado-based PeaceJam.


"Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a towering moral arbiter of our day.
He has worked tirelessly on a global basis in the name of human
rights and all that is decent."

      Mike Klein, who taught at St. Thomas and is a board member of
Youththrive, PeaceJam's Upper Midwest affiliate, said the group
learned the 75-year-old Tutu was available in April.

      "I was quite excited about it, and passed on that news,
expecting the same excitement back from the administration," Klein
said. "Instead, the response I got was, 'We will have to pass.'"

      Meanwhile, Cris Toffolo, an associate professor and former
director of the university's justice and peace studies program,
wrote two memos urging university officials to reconsider their
position. She said asked whether the university reached its
conclusions based on a Web site that she said misquoted Tutu as
linking Israel to Hitler.

      Toffolo said she received a letter in August removing her as
director of the peace studies program for two reasons: She had kept
pressing to invite Tutu, and she should not have sent Tutu a letter
using her director's title to tell him what happened.

      Hennes confirmed Toffolo had been relieved of the position, but
could not disclose the reasons. He said she is still a tenured
faculty member.

      Tutu will instead visit Metropolitan State University in St.
Paul from April 11-13. He'll meet with 300 young people who have
been working on projects to "change the world," said Donna
Gillen, executive director of Youththrive in Minnesota.
      

Gallery

Desmond Tutu visits the Twin Cities

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu won't be
speaking at the University of St. Thomas in April because school officials are worried his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
would offend the Jewish community, a school official said.

University of St. Thomas says 'no' to Desmond Tutu

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