President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden shared a heartfelt paean to Desmond Tutu upon learning of his death shortly after Christmas, praising his role standing up to Apartheid and “the power of his message of justice, equality, truth, and reconciliation as we confront racism and extremism in our time today.” Omitted was Tutu’s blind spot toward antisemitism or his incitement against Jews.

Tutu, for example, supported the “Free Gaza” movement, even after its co-founder Greta Berlin tweeted, “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” He supported Hamas despite its genocidal rhetoric and violence against women and children. He diminished Holocaust-era gas chambers, explaining that they “made for a neater death” than displacement during Apartheid. Certainly, Tutu’s anti-apartheid activism deserves praise, but he was a flawed hero. No other hatreds are today so readily ignored as antisemitism.