Desmond Tutu claims today's Palestinians pay penance for Holocaust

Former Anglican Archbishop of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, who is currently visiting Israel together with a group of so-called Elders that includes former US President Jimmy Carter, has said the "lesson Israel must learn from the Holocaust is that it can never get security through fences, walls and guns." In an interview with the Israeli newspaper 'Haaretz', Tutu said the West was consumed with guilt and regret toward Israel because of the Holocaust, "as it should be. But who pays the penance? The penance is being paid by the Arabs, by the Palestinians. I once met a German ambassador who said Germany is guilty of two wrongs. One was what they did to the Jews. And now the suffering of the Palestinians."

The retired archbishop, a traditionally staunch critic of Israel, also slammed Jewish organizations in the United States, saying they intimidated anyone who criticizes the occupation and rushed to accuse these critics of anti-Semitism. On possible sanctions against Israel, Tutu told the newspaper: "I always say to people that sanctions were important in the South African case for several reasons. We had a sports boycott, and since we are a sports-mad country, it hit ordinary people. It was one of the most psychologically powerful instruments. Secondly, it actually did hit the pocket of the South African government. I mean, when we had the arms embargo and the economic boycott."