CAPE TOWN, South Africa (WJC)– The retired Anglican archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu has urged the Cape Town Opera to abandon an upcoming trip to Israel, saying that Palestinians would not have equal access to the performance.
“Cape Town Opera should postpone its proposed tour next month until both Israeli and Palestinian opera lovers of the region have equal opportunity and unfettered access to attend performances,” he said in a statement.
Tutu, who served as first-ever black archbishop in Cape Town and as primate of the Anglican Church in South Africa, likened the situation of Palestinians today to that of South Africans under apartheid. “Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity, so it would be wrong for Cape Town Opera to perform in Israel,” he said , adding: “Only the thickest-skinned South Africans would be comfortable performing before an audience that excluded residents living, for example, in an occupied West Bank village… while including his Jewish neighbors from an illegal settlement on occupied Palestinian territory.”
Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his struggle against apartheid, and has since travelled the globe to promote peace efforts. For decades, he has been a strong opponent of Israel and outspoken critic of Zionism.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress