An Open Letter to Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Enough of that nonsense. You keep on prating about his recruiting for the German Army. 1. How many actually went? 2. Is it fair to Palestinians now alive to blame them for those few and something that happened before they were born?

I'm sure that to a Jew the holocaust was the most appalling incident at the time but it would have been hard to sell that to a Chinese person (with tens of millions of Chinese killed by the Japanese) or a Ukrainian person (more Ukrainians were killed in one year by Stalin than Jews died during WWWI).

We could have spared bombers, but it would have meant helping Germany fight the war. Oberkommando Wehrmacht wanted the use of trains to bring people to death camps stopped because it was getting in the way of their getting supplies to the Russian Front. Should we have helped Germany with its war effort and delayed the end of the war, although our armed forces were losing hundreds of lives a day while the war lasted?

Palestinian's are responsible for their own attempt at a Holocaust, when the attacked Israel on 5/14/48 The Fatah Charter & Hamas Covenent, both call for the destruction of Israel and the Jews in Palestine If you'll check back a bit further, Amin El Husseini recruited Palestinian's to perform volunteer service in the Nazi Army, helping the Germans in exterminating Jews

either way, the point is that they didin't consult the pals/country, they forced them to, just like israel refuses to let anyone divide "israel", you won't have a bar of it, yet you willingly took someone elses land by force, your time is coming, the rolds had enough, support is growing bigger and bigger.

absolutely right! he is an ignorant; read my comments

absolutely right! he is an ignorant; read my comments

While I personaly recognise the suffering of the palestinians, all cannot be blamed on Israel. They had many opportunities to end their suffering, but chose terrorism. Just look what they have done of a piece of land, Gaza, after the settlements were dismantled; why don't we hear your voices of the killing of their brethern in Gaza: the world remains mum! they could have proven to the world that they really mean building a state! but the bais of people like you, I can only term it as ignorant.

The logical place would have been Germany since Germany is in Europe and all Jews who suffered under the Nazis came from Europe. Germany would also owe a debt to the Roma Gypsies, most of whom went to their deaths strictly because of their identity as Gypsies. However, the big difference here is that Gypsies never got a state of their own, and to this day suffer extreme discrimination in Europe, even being forced to undergo sterilization. Therefore, the Gypsy Holocaust, or as they call it "Porajmos" (meaning "The Devouring") has virtually been denied, as though suffering under the Nazis was an exclusivity only for people who met the racist criteria of who was Jewish under Nazi laws. What a pity. The innocent in a continent away suffered and paid for the crimes of the Nazis, many who suffered under the Nazis still suffer in Europe, and basically, nothing has changed, except the roles of who is the oppressor now, who ultimately became the victims, and those who still remain victims.

What he did to Jews was effectively ignored and he was fed Chechoslovakia to get peace on our time Sound familiar?Arabs will all become peace lovers and stop exporting Wahabi and Salafi hatred and stop killing each other as soon as you give them Israel right?

how many arab propagandists are on this site?

It would be interesting to see how history views the events. The holocaust in itself was the most appalling incident at the time. Since then the prolonged suffering of the Palestinians (60 years, not 6) may well make the holocaust itself pale into lesser significance. The Palestinian suffering continues....

Dr Rozet's disapointment with Tutu rings hollow. The Palestinians continue to be the victims of the creation of the state of Israel and will continue to be so until Israeli jews who claim the desire for peace recognize the suffering of the Palestinians and condemn the Israeli policy of settlement building, land confiscation and collective punisment, otherwise you are part of the problem.

The Palestinians are not responsible for the holocaust but they are the victims of Zionist colonisation.

yes eve, it WAS the brits that divided palestine, which they had NO right to do, and as others are trying to get israel to re-divide "israel" your against it, what, it's alright for you to protest but not for the pals, whose land was being forcefuly taken from them? this shows the shear hypocricy by zionists, you can live side by side, as the reast of the world shows, in america, australia we all live side by side peacefully..

How about a Jewish state in Germany? Doesn't that make more sense? And leave the Palestinians in peace who had nothing to do with what happened in Europe. Time to partition Germany!

ombudsman:"desmond tutu is no intellectual." Neither is Lieberman and Netanyahu whats your point?

I notice you live quite close to me. I take it that if someone steals my car, I can come up to Santa Rosa and steal your car, and you won't press charges against me, but rather pursue whoever stole my car? The logic in both cases seems to be identical.

to bomb the Aushwitz crematoria in 1943-44. Though they were bombing all around that area, they kept giving US Jewish leaders false technical excuses. The Allied military leaders were actually happy that German cattle trains continued to be busy with carrying Jews to the gas chambers.

I am Palestinian in Germany and I agree. Palestinian state in Berlin as reparations!!!!!

Colin Wright:"it`s clear the Jews of Israel have not worked out how to successfully coexist with `Arabs." Colin they have trouble coexisting with each other`let alone their Arab neighbours.

'CHE The ALLIES did NOT fight Germany to stop the Holocaust.' Well, since they were already fighting anyway by the time the Holocaust began, they hardly could have gone to war on that score. However, it's worth quoting the words of Chamberlain's declaration of war in 1939: "It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against?brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution." Close enough, I would say.

'At one time Jews and Muslims got along as others have said here in Palestine; and I might add in other places, even Bombay. They say the European influence through colonialism, etc. poisoned the well.' I think that puts things in a somewhat distorted light. Muslims got along with Jews and Christians all right -- as long as it was clear who was top dog. What is fair to say is that historically, Muslim-dominated societies have been far more tolerant of Jews and Christians than Jewish- and Christian-dominated societies have been of Muslims. Even today, France et al are having obvious problems, and however one wishes to apportion the blame, it's clear the Jews of Israel have not worked out how to successfully coexist with 'Arabs.'

Sure -- but Zionism would have been equally inconceivable without the rise of nationalism. It can be seen as the Jewish adoptation of the nineteenth century creed of nationalalism. Inasmuch as the Jews didn't already have a country, obviously they were going to have to establish one -- but that only becomes obvious if one buys into the assumptions of nationalism. Similarly, Zionism also owed a great deal to the assumptions of colonialism. You can only go seize some piece of land outside Europe if you assume that those already on the land are denied title to it on the grounds that they are not European.

It is a shame that the memory of those who suffered the horrors of the Holocaust, those murdered, those worked to death, those starved, those who survived, and those who saw, that so many use the Holocaust to justify their political goals. The Palestinians did not perpetrate the Holocaust, nor have they 'paid for it.' The Holocaust created a situation which accelerated the influx of Jews into Palestine, and added an emotional impetus which created world-wide support for the creation of Israel. The Holocaust exists as a historic event, a caution to the world of the price of racism, hatred and totalitarian government. It is, however, abused when used to justify anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Holocaust does not oppress Palestinians, nor does it justify oppressing Palestinians. The Holocaust does not justify the occupation it did not cause. The Holocaust is, perhaps most misused, by those who wave it as a bloody flag to justify anything they wish to do.

Many people paid for the Holocaust. Non-military deaths exceeded 40 million. 6 million Jews died in Nazi camps. 1.8 million non-Jewish Poles died in Nazi camps. 26 million people from the Soviet Union were killed. WWII was a tragedy that most severely affected the Jews and Slavs of Eastern Europe whom Hitler and Himmler referred to as sub-human. The Palestinians had nothing to do with that carnage. Yet they were displaced for the benefit of establishing a nation for Jews. The world did that out of compassion for the sufferings of the Jews. However it is an insult to the world's compassion for Israel to impose a harsh, suppresive occupation on the Palestinians.

Amin Al-Husseini played an important role in the spread of antisemitism in Iraq along with many Palestinians who gained prominent positions in the Ministry of Education of Iraq. The Palestinians played a central role in the spread of antisemitism in Iraq during the 1930s. This culminated in the massacre of 100s of Baghdadi Jews {the Farhud of 1941}. Thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were also destroyed in this barbaric pogrom. By 1951 the Jewish community which made up nearly 40% of Baghdad's population was nearly liquidated and the Palestinian leadership of that period has blood on its hands. So the Palestinian Prince's claims are historically inaccurate.

"In any case, according to the British, by 1924 a `national home` had come about." On my planet, there was no nation there in 1924. It was Mandated territory with harsh restrictions on the Jews imposed by the British at the behest of the Arabs. What's with the continual cluelessness on your part? Why do you comment so frequently regarding a conflict you know so little about? Try not to comment so much about my planet until you leave the oblivious one you are on and study this one for awhile.

Archbishop Tutu completely ignores half of Israel's Jewish population who escaped the from Arab lands. It is astounding to think that Tutu would whitewash the dark-skinned Jews from his narrative. The Jews from Arab lands were persecuted in their native homelands. After the ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Arab lands, the majority fled to Israel. While many Arab leaders supported the Nazi powers, the central reason most Jews fled was due to the racist ideologies of the Arab Nationalists (the Kurds of Iraq are another example of this). The massacres, confiscations and persecution of the Jews of Arab lands had little to do with the Holocaust. Why would a man who stood up for the dark-skinned people of South Africa spread what could be seen as racist, anti-Mizrahi (against the Jews of Arab Lands) propaganda?

Militancy started by Arabs slaughtering Jews long before the Jews could defend themselves. Israel gets military aid only from the USA the money being spent IN the USA.The Arabs get a lot more than Israel do you concern yourself with where that money ends up? Palestinians have had 60+ years of never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity,starting with the Peel commmission. Settlements are a direct result of joint Arab refusal of peace.

It is very interesting, it might be if we marked the original arab villages, some of them like Kfar Kana, I read, might be a Hebrew village that converted from Judaism to Islam; some of the early Jews converted to Christianity and then to Islam. At one time Jews and Muslims got along as others have said here in Palestine; and I might add in other places, even Bombay. They say the European influence through colonialism, etc. poisoned the well. It would be nice if we could return to that relationship.

#37 The League of Nations gave Britain the Mandate of Palestine to form a Jewish state. The British first cut of it Jordan as an Arab state and then offered in 1937 to divide the rest into Jewish and Arab states. Jews accepted, Palestinian leader, The Mufti, refused, then fled to Nazi Germany, to encourage Hitler to change the ethnic cleansing of the Jews into the Final Solution. You just ignore all this. Why?

The Shoah was perpetrated not only by the nazis but by the muslims as well. His greatest ally was not mussollini or franco, but the grand mufti of Jerusalem who pushed hitler to act faster in his plans. Then throw in muslims in Bosnia and other areas of Europe and we note the alliance - that of hitler's pope and the muslims with a mutual goal: eradication of Jews and world domination. Get your facts straight linthwaithe. Obfuscating the truth doesn't replace it!

As does his "ignorance" of the Peel comission. He is just another 3rd world populist African politician. Where was his voice heard to stop necklacing?

They are ready to fix Israel.

ETHNICALLY CLEANSE OUT ALL JEWS FROM ARAB COUNTRIES. The Palestinians called on all Arab states to attack Israel in 1948. It is that war between Arab countries and Israel, which Arabs lost, which caused them to retaliate against their own Jews. Your ridiculous story about one Zionist bomb in Baghdad caused all Jews to leave Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Lybia, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco? Did Thousands of recent Bombs in Baghdad cause ALL Arabs to leave all their countries? The Pals STARTED the 47/48 war, and are thus responsible for all Pal refugees and for even more JEWISH REFUGEES FROM ARAB COUNTRIES.

Your comment does not deserve a response. You would do well to learn from my mentor when I was young: " 'Tis better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt".

Egyptian Planes started bombing indiscriminately Tel Aviv. Syrian planes started bombing Haifa. Iraqi planes Netanya. Jordanian Artillery started indiscriminate shelling in the ?holy city? of Jerusalem. Egyptian Tanks crossed the border rolling towards Tel Aviv. Syrian tanks crossed the border rolling into Israeli Kibbutzim in Jordan valley. Lebanese tanks doing same in Galilee. Jordanian troops started the ethnic cleansing of Jews in ?East Jerusalem?, and in Hebron. The Palestinian Arabs were just happy onlookers, and participants in massacres of Jews in Hebron and Jerusalem. Israel had no planes, no Tanks, no artillery to defend itself.

The Arabs didn't wake up one day and decide Jews were the enemy. After all, you make it a point to mention that Jews left Arab countries. You do know they lived in those Arab countries for centuries while they were being persecuted in Europe. There was obviously a source of ignition that caused this conflict. That source is Zionism's original aims as Herzl professed to dispossess the NATIVE AND PENNILESS ARAB POPULATION from the Holy Land. Too bad with the demographic bomb, that plan is going to fall hard on it's ass.

There is documentation from Iraqi Jews which indicated that Zionists set off explosions in their sectors of Iraq causing them to leave. Let's just say that these people are lying and the Jews were forced out of Arab countries. Then it is not only those victim's choice, but it is their obligation to receive compensation or return to those homes in those Arab countries. The difference here being is that the Palestinians are not responsible for actions caused by other Arab countries. However, Israel is fully responsible for what happened to the Palestinians. As such, the Palestinians have the choice and obligation to receive compensation or return to their homes in Palestine. Let me remind you that Jews were less than 5 percent of the population of Palestine at the turn of the 20th century and in 1948, ISRAEL erased the name of over 400 Arabic named villages in Palestine after Israel was created. Zionism is the cause of the conflict, the Arabs didn't wake up one day and decide

The Jews who died during the Holocaust, and those with relatives who suffered, paid for the Holocaust. The world paid for the Holocaust with the money, blood and suffering it took to win the war and continues to pay with international aid. Germany paid for the Holocaust with the destruction of its nation and division for half a century. The Palestinians continue to pay for the Holocaust, as it was a major factor in the loss of their homeland and death of many Palestinians because of the surge in militant Jewish immigration it caused. And who are we all paying these great sums of blood and money to? To the leaders of the state of Israel and their pet project, the settlers, who profit from the continuation of hostilities and the growth of settlements, for whom "peace" implies not only and end to prosperity, but to international relevance. And that makes them Holocaust profiteers.

"Germany really caused the nakba...So Germany should make up for this." Wow! What a magnicicently twisted delegation of blame!

Do you mean that the aboriginal inhabitants of Palestine are not human?

Well, Jews, Gypsies, Leftist, Gays, and a lot of others paid the supreme sacrifice of being massacred. The Arabs might be paying something for the holocaust since, as Nazi allies, they were deeply involved in promoting it and carrying it out. Many European countries are paying since they lack the talent and dynamism that Jewish society brings to a country. And Germany, having recognized its horrific mistakes, has been paying. One of the few countries that seems to have benefited from the holocauset is, of course, SWITZERLAND. The Swiss kept the wealth Jews deposited in their banks and were never able to recuperate. They also kept the stolen wealth the Nazis hid there. How is it that the Swiss always manage to come out ahead?

Mr Tutu: Jordan is a british made story. In Jordan there is place for many many milions of the so called "palestinian arabs". Tell Mr Blair about this british fabrication. With all the money the arabs have, they could have dedicated let say only 10% of their wealth to build up Jordan for those populations. A international conference should be organized for this purpose.

His statements do not deserve response but it is hard to hold back . Desmond does not get it that Palis are paying the price for their intransigence , their culture of terror , their culture of backwardness and permittivity . Just look at any other Arab country , where there are no Jews , to see this reality . Without those culturally inspired characteristics they would have a progressive , democratic country a long , long time ego . But all of those ingrained Arab faults are conveniently forgotten by Desmond in order to blame the Jew . I think the size of the Cross on his neck speaks to him the old fashioned way .

I have watched Tutu for years and have commented before. Where the idea comes from that he is a good humanitarian soul, is beyond me. Certainly when it comes to Jews and Israel his Nobel Prize is a ridiculous farce. He was condemning you at every opportunity, long before the war in Gaza and long before the security barrier. Because of world wide sympathy in the struggle for liberation against Apartheid in S Africa, Tutu became prominent. He was not a high profile political leader and he personally was protected against the system by the Anglican church. If you consider any of his utterances , they are full of meaningless cliches which he regurgitates ad nauseum. I believe his children live in the U SA, where he has also spent a great amount of time, including for medical treatment. He was involved with activist Randall Robinson about whom one no longer hears. Now that Tutu no longer has a cause back at home, he has found an opportunity to jump on the Palestine/ Israel bandwagon.

Since Germany caused the holocaust, which, in turn, caused the nakba, according to the archbishop, Germany really caused the nakba. So Germany should make up for this by giving land for a palestinian country in Germany. I am sure that the area including and around Berlin would be suitable. The Pallies could move to there and set up their government, country, culture, etc. and everybody would be happy.

It's sad that Tutu abandons Christian ideology of reconciliation and brotherly love and starts to blame. Instead of accepting the UN partition of Palestine, the Arabs launched an immediate attack followed up by 60 years of incitement, terror, and denial. Tutu should revere Jesus' people whose origin in the holy land precedes by thousands of years that of the Christians, Moslems and yes, Arabs themselves. Bishop, love your brothers and Jesus' people and don't further incite hatred. There is already too much. Shame on you.

Salah, The reason many Jews chose the US is because they were fearful (rightly so) of being slaughtered the way the Arabs have done and attempted to do since long before the State of Israel, and of course as they've done and continue to do to each other to this day. The simple fact that you and other critics of Israel can't seem to grasp is that any indiscretions Israel commits are largely of a defensive nature or committed by individuals, while the arabs murder collectively, officially and in far vast numbers with sanction of religion and government. Sadam Hussein with Shiites and Kurds, Assad at Hama, the algerian, sudanese and lebanese civil wars have each killed more people than the entire 60 years Arab-Israeli conflict. So address those first, and then we can see if we can really have peace. Cheers.

'ACTUALLY! you leave out the rest of the story...' No I'm not. I was only responding to Mr Rozett's canards, not to yours. Whatever may or may not have been said by the League of Nations at San Remo in 1923, what was said in the Balfour Declaration in 1917 is quite clear. His Majesty's government viewed with favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. It didn't say 'state,' and it didn't say it would lift a finger to bring it about. However, it did explicitly limit the approval to only those steps that wouldn't interfere with the lives of the existing population. ...and Israel's supporters have the gall to cite this statement as if it were some kind of charter for the present state of Israel. It's as if I said I hope you get rich, so long as you don't do anything wrong. You build a criminal empire based upon kidnapping refugees and selling them for organ transplants and say I gave you permission.

It seems that most of the TBs assume that the Holocaust occurred only in Europe. They ignore the actions of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who, as an ally of Hitler, organized Muslim SS troops to help the extermination and whose writings included plans to kill all the Jews in the Middle East, once Hitler had accomplished the work in Europe (and hopefully, the US) Since Hitler failed, the Mufti was unable to complete the work he started before Hitler's emergence of the scene with pogroms in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Hebron. Ut wasn't just Hitler and the Europeans, folks,: the Arabs are also to blame.

No "Swiss", you have it backwards. WWII and the Holocaust DELAYED Israel's independence. In fact, had the Arabs of pre-state Israel not been so hostile, and intransigent as supported by certain elements of the British government, the state of Israel would have been declared early enough,or at minimum, lifting immigration quotas (demanded by Arabs and enforced by the appeasing British) to have provided a place of refuge for Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Arab intransigence and Nazi sympathies thus cost un-told numbers of Jewish lives, as did their leader,the Grand Mufiti Al-Hussieni's lobbying the Nazis to slaughter more Jews etc. No, "Swiss", the Arabs of pre-state Israel were as complicit in causing the deaths of as many Jews as they could manage at the time.

Tutu shows an alarming disrespect for the Hebrew people whose connection to the holy land is amply demonstated in the Bible. How the current conflict is to be resolved is up to the parties, but instead of taking an inflammatory partisan position, Tutu should apply some Christian philosophy to the Palestinians. Profoundly in denial, he and they might consider the real starting point of justice and peace is acknowledgint the other party's humanity. Desmond, first respect Jesus' people before you launch inflammatory rehetoric that only arouses more hate and conflict.

In addition to the Mufti of Jerusalem. who was an ally of Hitler, killing Jews in Iraq, Albania, etc., the Jews in arab lands were expelled after the creation of the State of Israel, and were forced to leave behind all their possessions, some of them were professionals and some had wealth. The Jews in Lebanon disappeared; there was harassment from the PLO for one and the Lebanon war. These Jews should be compensated for their losses by the arab countries, which countries were also complicit in keeping the Palestinians in hardship as a tool to destroy Israel and gather sympathy for the Palestinians. The arab countries could absorb the Palestinians, esp. Lebanon; they could accept the State of Israel. We now have to deal with Syria as well which I believe has despotic desires to regain the Greater Syria under his control; he now has Lebanon, Hamas and Iraq??? what will happen there. Arab despots, Arafat, you name it, they are responsible for what happened to the Palestinians.

Psychoanalytically Israel is shifting its aggressiveness caused by a continuous attempt to reduce fear towards the entire Middle East and everyone who is unwilling to behave like a nursing mother. And therefore of course the Palestinians are paying and potentially everyone involved. Lets see who else Israel is willing to put a heavy load on - selfishly as it is.

When a celebrated "man of peace" such as Tutu can get it so wrong, I really worry for humanity. Jews must remain self-reliant with regard to security. Would a pullback of the fence to the '67 line make any difference in Arab desire to destroy Israel? Is it reasonable to have two capitals in one city? Will that be a peaceful city? Can the Pals get a Right of Return? The answer to all these questions is an unequivcal "no."

Mr. Rozett: with deep respect, I suggest that it is you who don't understand the complexities put forth by Bishop Tutu. What you say about Israel's creation, and assistance/opposition, is true. What you won't recognize is that the convergence of events -- holocaust included -- resulted in the State of Israel. Without WWII, would Jews have fled Europe en masse, before/during/after WWII, if not for it? Tutu's statement takes away neither from the holocaust nor Israel's struggles...it does not say WHO caused the Palestinian suffering, which may fall both on Western Europe/USA and on Arab nations refusing Palestinian entry.This is a complex issue, and unless you shed your own world view, it is hard to understand Tutu -- I do hope Israelis can try. Offense need not be perceived when none is given, if all complexities are recognized.

Give him a break.

And dictartoships on Africa, a tottal corrupt human being, disgusting little tyrant.

Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi in Jerusalem, and much of the Old Testament revolves around the travails of his people there. Had the Arabs peacefully acknowledge the partition of Israel, had Egypt and Jordan loved their brothres instead of penning them up in camps and then rejecting them, there would be peace now. Tutu, you should have paid more attention in Old Testament, 101.

Rozett's response contains an implied discrimination.

Zionism is a political movement (not a religious movement) that was founded as a response to the rise of European antisemitism. It is true that Zionists often exploit the Old Testament for political aims, but at its core Zionism is a political movement. Since antisemitism became prevalent in Europe, European Jews wanted out, and 99% chose USA over their "Promised Land", that is quick answer to the romantic relationship Jews have to the "Promised Land"! So it is the waves of European antisemitism (and its outcome sadly was the Holocaust) which propelled Zionism, not Just the Holocaust. Salah Mansour Chicago

Jews were the victims during the WW2, nothing to discuss there. Since 1948, Zionists are using the Holocaust to cover their crimes committed on Palestinian people, from daily treatment to frequent cries against humanity.

The fact that Israel is the only state in the world that was established with the UN blessing does not mean that other states are illegitimate, does it?

and enabled by the indifference of European States in the 30's enabled the establishment of a Jewish State on the ashes of the Holocaust. Unfortunatly the State of Israel was established on Palestinian Land rather than Alaska. So yes undoubtedly the Jewish people suffered terribly during the Holocaust. After the full extent of the Holocaust became apparent to assuage the guilt of Europeans, the establishment of the State of Israel on Palestinian Lands means that the cost of that guilt is paid for by the Palestinian people. Who ironically many of the more neo right wing Israelis refuse to acknowledge as even existing.

it's the Palestinains who are paying for it..

cause all the wars have been started by Arabs... oh, get a life. the rest of the world is not stupid.

Thank you Dr Rozett. I hope you will share with us Archbishop Tutu's reply.Pres. Obama made the same erroneous connection between the Holocaust and the Jewish claim to Israel. As Christians they must both be well aware that Jewish life in Israel goes back millennia.

thanks to Rozett's brilliant article.

ACTUALLY! you leave out the rest of the story. At the San Remo conference later adopted by the League of Nations as international law, there was supposed to be a Jewish state in Palestine. The Brits (as usual ) reneged on the law and created Jordan whilst competing with the French. League of Nations legal resolutions. were incorporated into the United Nation

Tutu is not an intellectual. He is a simple vicar that learned Bible stories, and rose through the ranks with wealth because he was at the right place the right time-APARTHEID- and at the end of the struggle. His kids were schooled in elitist Swedish schools. Tutu was appointed bishop as a provocation by the Church of England to the White Apartheid government.His empty catchy slogans are shallow but effective in his world of populism. Rozett, have pity on this miserable gate crasher. He is a religious anti semite, simple and little more. I am surprised after his visit to yad Vashem years ago when he uttered stupidities, you did not learn then.

his world view is through the eyes of the third world and his immediate reaction and impulse is hatred for the west.he sees jews are westerners.and that is his story. he is not worth our time.

A wonderful, sensitive article, Mr Rozett, well-thought and to the point. You cannot blame Mr Tutu too much, he does not know enough about the history of the Middle East and of the Jews and Arabs. Sadly, judging from some reactions on this forum, antisemitism is raising its ugly head all over the globe...

... Rozett never mentions the fact that the Palestinians have endured decades of inhumane oppression and brutal occupation of Palestinian land. Rozett fails to recognize ANY suffering by the Palestinians in his lame attempt to recount his own unique 'historical narrative'. Rozett, like so many other Israelis, cannot bear witness to the Palestinian Nakba. While of course the Jews suffered and died in the Holocaust it is the Palestinians who *still* bear the brunt for Jewish emancipation from Nazi Germany. Rozett is also guilty of failing to mention that the Palestinians have as much right to live in 'their historic homeland'. In short Rozett would like people to believe that Arabs/Palestinians never lived in Palestine and that they never suffered loss, death and diaspora because of the establishment of modern day Israel.

You give an inconvincing argument Robert Rozett. Tutu didn't ignore the Jewish loss during the Holocaust, but he was mentioning the consequence of that terrible event on the living populations, It is clear that the Palestinians and not the living Jews are the party that is still paying. You didn't convince us of the UK, Trumans or Stalines position, not to mention France, in the swift recognition of the state of Israel. Neither their position in lobbying for a majority vote in the 1947 GA 181. Israel was created as a refuge for the Jews because of the Holocaust. The Nakba was the direct consequence of this creation even according to prominent Zionist Israeli historians.

World doesn`t make a stance you would like, cause all the wars have been started by Arabs..If the warmongers get what they deserve, then who to blame

Europe murdered jews, jews have been murdering Palestinians, Egyptians, Syrians and Lebanese and Jordanians ever since as they seek to steal more and more land and resources in an area Shlomo Sand has shown they have no connection to whatsoever. Get a grip on reality mate.

' They [the British] had long since abandoned their commitment to establishing a Jewish national home.' Well, the Balfour declaration wasn't a commitment -- least of all a commitment to establish an independent Jewish state in Palestine. It was a statement that they viewed the founding of a 'national home' 'with favor.' I may view you doing well in the stock market 'with favor.' Such an expression hardly commits me to anything. In any case, according to the British, by 1924 a 'national home' had come about. There was a Jewish community in Palestine with its own schools, newspapers, economic infrastructure, and sense of identity. Mission accomplished, as they say.

It seems you guys don't understand what is meant by "paying for the Holocaust." To pay for a crime means to take punishment for it. It is the perpetrator that pays for the crime, not the victim. Thus, Germany and other countries that participated in the Holocaust should have been made to pay, but it is Palestinians doing it. Jews did not "pay" for the Holocaust. They suffered it.

One thing's for sure, europeans aren't paying for the Holocaust. It's interesting that some people note that europeans would have a different attitude about Israel if not for the Holocaust. That makes me think of two things: 1) if what we see from europe now is 'sympathy' for Israel because of the Holocaust, I'd hate to see what the unsympathetic europe looks like. 2) Europe hasn't had the will or ability to flex its muscles ever since the end of WW2, I can't imagine what they'd actually do to Israel other than issue strongly worded condemnations.

to the usurpers.

Not to mention that there is no such "nation" that could be called "Palestinians".

Not Palestinians. Yet Eretz Israel has folowed in apartheid SA's footsteps. Different laws, living places, and car registration plates dependent on your religion. Jews can build houses and Pals can't. The final irony is that Jews, have created de-facto ghettos for the native population of Palestine. They also kill and imprison thousands, while admittedly suffering casualties and one prisoner themselves. Tutu speaks the bald truth. Palestinians today are paying a heavy price for the historical and horrific actions of Europeans

Mr Robert Rozett, You are a professional worker for the collective memory, a peculiar recent invention and institution. You might be confusing it with the line of professional historian. The Hebrew University has good social anthropology scholars and courses for making the difference between the collective memory and historiography very clear. Maybe Tutu is an intellect not kosher enough for you. I hope P. Nora, M. Hallbwach, E. Durkheim will be.

Let's make it clear: 6 Mio. Jews paid an even more horrendous price for the Holocaust than the Palestinians, no question about that, but victims they are both. Yes, it's true, Zionism didn't start in 1945, and there is a good chance (though no guarantee) that Israel would even have been established without the Holocaust happening in Europe. But one thing is also certain: Without the Holocaust happening, the world (especially Europe) would have taken a very different stand against Israels continued occupation of Palestinian land. Israel would have faced sanctions and diplomatical isolation at least a decade ago. And that is the reason, why the Palestinians have also the right to call themselves "victims of the Holocaust".