The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg is opening a new exhibit on Palestinian displacement, but Jewish leaders are calling on Heritage Minister Marc Miller to ensure it is not used as a 'propaganda tool' against Israel. Critics say the exhibit, titled 'Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present,' presents a one-sided narrative that blames Israel for the plight of Palestinians while omitting key context, such as the execution of Palestinians by Hamas firing squads in Gaza in 2025.
Exhibit opens amid controversy
The exhibit, which opens Saturday and runs until 2028, features personal stories from Palestinian Canadians through artifacts and video testimonies. According to a CMHR news release, it explores 'human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians' and highlights 'enduring patterns of loss and resilience.' The museum says the exhibit helps fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue on human rights.
However, the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs (CIJA) criticized the timing, noting that the launch coincided with the appointment of two new members to the government's Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, tasked with combating antisemitism. CIJA stated that the exhibit 'risks exacerbating Canada's antisemitism crisis' and called on the government to prevent its institutions from being 'weaponized to promote divisive political narratives that fuel hatred and violence.'
Former trustee resigns over 'propaganda tool'
Marc Berlin, a former CMHR trustee who served for nearly eight years, resigned in protest. In an online discussion with B'nai Brith Canada CEO Simon Wolle, Berlin described the exhibit as a 'propaganda tool' that 'demonizes and delegitimizes Israel.' He argued that it ignores the displacement of over 850,000 Jews from Arab countries in the 1940s alongside Palestinian displacement. Berlin said he had hoped for a balanced approach that would foster sharing of stories from both Israelis and Palestinians working together.
Wolle echoed these concerns, urging Miller to open an investigation into the museum's failures to maintain public trust. 'To maintain the public's trust in and the integrity of his Ministry, he must open an investigation into these failures,' Wolle said.
Museum defends exhibit
CMHR CEO Isha Khan defended the exhibit, stating, 'We are a museum grounded in Canada's human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.'
In a series of posts on X, the museum acknowledged 'misconceptions' about the exhibit and emphasized its commitment to fighting antisemitism. The museum has not yet disclosed the cost of the exhibit or confirmed whether it includes the October 2025 Hamas public executions of Palestinians, which critics say are a critical part of the human rights story.
Call for full context
Columnist Joe Warmington argues that the exhibit must include the 'disgraceful mass public executions carried out by Hamas terrorists' in October 2025, which he described as reminiscent of the Holocaust. 'There is no greater example of the violation of Palestinian human rights than that,' he wrote. 'And this is a human rights museum after all.'
Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit, said, 'No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.'
