Human Rights Museum Board Member Quits in Protest of ‘One-Sided’ Exhibit on Displaced Palestinians

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg in a file photo. The Canadian Press/John Woods

A trustee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has tendered his resignation from the board of the Winnipeg facility, citing concerns that an upcoming Palestinian “Nakba” exhibit could lead to increased animosity towards Jews.

International human rights lawyer Mark Berlin announced his decision in a letter to federal Culture Minister Marc Miller and the chair of the museum’s board.

Berlin’s June 22 letter accuses the museum of prioritizing “ideology” by telling the story of the Palestinian displacement of 1948 without acknowledging the parallel displacement of Jews from Arab nations.

“Telling the story with a one-sided perspective chosen by the museum serves to deepen division and contributes to further hostility toward Jews in Canada,” wrote the former board member, who is Jewish. He said the planned exhibit is “a betrayal of the museum to its Jewish audiences.”

The upcoming exhibit focuses on the forced displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Palestine war, an incident known as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic.

Berlin argued the two histories—Palestine’s and Israel’s—are inextricably linked and the “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present” exhibit opening this weekend does not explain what caused the dispersal of both groups of people.

The Winnipeg museum has said the exhibit addresses an important topic and is not intended to cover the complete history of the region. It emphasized in a media statement that it has developed programming and exhibits focused on anti-Semitism over the past two years.

Museum CEO Isha Khan said in the statement that the exhibit is meant to highlight the lived experiences of Palestinian Canadians and the human rights consequences of forced displacement over generations. It is not intended to question Israel’s legitimacy as a state or to provide commentary on Zionism or anti-Zionism, she said.

Berlin’s letter portrays the views and perspectives of the Jewish community “as a monolith,” Khan said, adding that the museum has received both criticism and support from Jewish Canadians regarding the exhibit. She noted that feedback is welcome, but the museum will continue to exercise curatorial independence.

The History

The displacements were triggered by a conflict that arose following World War II, when the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 in November 1947. The resolution suggested the division of Palestine into distinct Jewish and Arab states, while placing Jerusalem under international governance.

The Jewish leadership accepted the plan but Arab leaders largely rejected it as a violation of the U.N. Charter. War ensued on May 15, 1948, just hours after Israel declared independence, when the military coalition of neighbouring Arab states invaded the newly established country to oppose the declaration.

Berlin said the museum should highlight the similar plight faced by both the Palestinian and Jewish peoples.

More than 850,000 Jews were forcibly displaced or expelled from their ancestral communities across the Middle East and North Africa after the war, when Arab governments enacted sweeping anti-Jewish measures. These included stripping Jews of citizenship, barring them from state education, and freezing bank accounts.

Like the Palestinian people, the Jewish community also commemorates their expulsion annually. The Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day on May 15 and Israel officially observes Yom HaGirush, or the Day of the Expulsion, every Nov. 30.

Berlin said he believes the museum’s decision to tell only one narrative “represents a profound failure to bring communities together.”

“The museum has a statutory and moral obligation to tell the full truth, not to sacrifice it at the altar of politics,” he wrote in his letter. “The museum loses its legitimacy when it presents as historical truth a narrative that erases a crucial part of the history.”

Support and Criticism

Jewish groups have said the exhibit lacks context and was not developed with adequate consultation and transparency. Meanwhile, Arab and Muslim organizations have praised the exhibit as a means to confront the realities that have influenced ongoing violence in the Middle East.

B’nai Brith Canada, the oldest human rights and Jewish service organization in the nation, stated in a press release that it has called upon the museum to reconsider presenting the exhibit during a time marked by significant geopolitical uncertainty and escalating anti-Semitic sentiment.

B’nai Brith Canada CEO Simon Wolle said Berlin’s letter should “serve as a wake-up call,” to the museum’s remaining trustees and to Miller, and called on the government to intervene.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East applauded the exhibit in a recent statement and launched an email campaign to urge Canada’s culture minister to “stand firm” in his support of the exhibit.

Miller recently said it’s not his place to dictate museum policy and it’s not up to the government to make curatorial decisions.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.