The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota has cancelled an appearance by Archbishop Desmond Tutu out of fear of offending the local Jewish community. Tutu has made several anti-Israel and anti-Zionist remarks in the past, and he’s been a proponent of divestment from Israel.

During one speech in support of divestment Tutu said:

My heart aches. I say why are our memories so short. Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their own history so soon? Have they turned their backs on their profound and noble religious traditions? Have they forgotten that God cares deeply about the downtrodden?

About the cancellation, Doug Hennes, St, Thomas’s vice president for university and government relations said:

We had heard some things he said that some people judged to be anti-Semitic and against Israeli policy. We're not saying he's anti-Semitic. But he's compared the state of Israel to Hitler and our feeling was that making moral equivalencies like that are hurtful to some members of the Jewish community.

I think banning Tutu on the grounds that Jews may take offense is itself rather offensive. For one thing, it assumes that all Jews disagree with his opinion of Israel. And for another, it assumes that those of us who do disagree can’t handle a little heat.

I don’t know if Desmond Tutu is anti-Semitic or not. I know he’s made a lot of statements that are intellectually and morally sloppy.

The problem is, one has to tred lightly—or not lightly, carefully no matter what side of this debate one’s on. After all I’m not in the same camp as this guy:

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.

That would be Marv Davidov, an adjunct professor within the Justice and Peace Studies program. And for anyone who’s not familiar with the world of “peace studies,” I strongly urge you to check out this brilliant takedown.

In fact, Tutu’s appearance was coordinated by an organization called PeaceJam International. This is a body that exists to flatter Nobel Peace laureates because they’re Nobel Peace laureates, and if anything makes me queasy about Desmond Tutu it’s that he was honored with that silly prize.

I was against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being invited to speak at Columbia University because he’s a murderer, tyrant, and de-facto military enemy of the United States. Not because he merely harbors some opinions with which I disagree.