Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed sent a formal letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney more than a week ago expressing concern over the upcoming “Nakba” exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, but Carney has not responded, the National Post has learned.
Ambassador's concerns outlined
Moed said he wrote the letter because he was “greatly concerned” following reports about the exhibit, which is slated to open on Saturday. “It’s my opinion that this exhibit establishes a narrative that delegitimizes the existence of the State of Israel and takes place at a museum that is funded by the federal government,” Moed said. He also noted that he “shares the Jewish community’s concerns that they have not been consulted.”
Letter urges intervention
In the letter, Moed tells Carney he is writing with a “profound sense of urgency” and urges the government “to intervene to prevent this exhibition from proceeding.” He argues the exhibit advances a “highly contested” narrative that “presents the establishment of the State of Israel primarily through a twisted lens of Palestinian dispossession while disregarding essential historical realities.” This, he suggests, “risks transforming a national institution dedicated to human rights education into a vehicle for political advocacy and social intolerance.”
Historical context omitted
Moed states the “Nakba” narrative “omits or minimizes fundamental historical facts, including the Jewish people’s ancient and continuous connection to the Land of Israel, the international legal foundations of Israel’s creation, the rejection of partition by Arab states and leaders in 1947 and their initiation of the broader regional conflict that accompanied Israel’s birth.” He also noted that former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, familiar with the “Nakba” narrative, still affirmed that a Jewish “national home” was “a sine qua non of any settlement.”
Antisemitism concerns
Moed warned that “narratives that delegitimize Israel often serve as the entry point for hostility toward Jewish communities around the world. In Canada, where antisemitic incidents have reached unprecedented levels since Oct. 7, 2023, public institutions should exercise particular caution before endorsing or amplifying narratives that contribute to polarization, resentment and hostility.” He reminded Carney of his own speech on antisemitism earlier this month, writing, “You spoke candidly about the crisis confronting Jewish-Canadians.… Yet the relationship between contemporary antisemitism and the demonization of Israel must also be acknowledged.”
Carney’s office has not commented on the letter.
