Palestinian exhibit at human rights museum to open next week amid criticism

The canadian river Museum for Human Rights says an exhibit most displaced Palestinians testament go forward as planned, despite unfavorable judgment that it's a potentially one-sided story.

The exhibit, opening June 27, focuses on people affected by the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced in 1948 during fighting over control of what is now Israel.

The exhibit has been in the works for four years, though Palestinian Canadians have been calling for their stories to be told at the Winnipeg museum since it opened in 2014.

Jewish groups, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B'nai Brith Canada and the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, have raised concern that the exhibit could fuel antisemitism by not providing more historical context.

A key issue has been not acknowledging the estimated 850,000 Jewish people who fled Arab countries in the years following the establishment of Israel. Groups have also criticized the museum for a lack of consultation and transparency during the exhibit's development.

Museum CEO Isha Khan said she's heard the concerns, but the exhibit isn't trying to cover the whole history of the time period.

"It's a modest-sized exhibit," Khan said in an interview. "It isn't a historical retrospective of 1948 and the founding of the state of Israel."

Like other exhibits at the museum, it tells one community's story with the aim of creating broader awareness, Khan said.

"It's about Palestinian Canadians sharing their stories of forced displacement, intended to help us understand other stories."

The exhibit, taking up about 12 metres of an existing gallery, will tell stories through video testimonies, photographs, art, objects and writing, the CMHR said. The Canadian Press was unable to see the exhibit, as it's still being installed.

While some concerns about it are based on what the public has yet to see, others say the way the museum has developed the exhibit is already disqualifying.

"This has been grossly mishandled," said Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

He said there has been no meaningful consultation with the Jewish community or transparency about who the museum consulted. He's also concerned that the museum consulted with political activists, including one who has expressed deeply hostile views towards Zionism.

"They have ensured that no matter what the content of the exhibit, this, by virtue of the way it has been handled by the leadership of the museum, is a divisive and incendiary program," Shack said.

Bryan Schwartz, a law professor at the University of Manitoba, described the exhibit as a "partisan exercise in the demonization and delegitimization of Israel," in a report earlier this year.

He called for the exhibit to be halted and said the process that created it "excluded and marginalized the mainstream Jewish community at every stage."

Khan said the museum consulted widely but that any decisions about exhibits rests with the curatorial team.

"We're accountable to the public, and we listen and we reflect. But ultimately, those decisions are all made by us."

Palestinian group praises Nakba exhibit coming to Canadian human rights museum; Jewish organizations divided

She said she has also met with leaders of Jewish organizations across the country and shares their concerns about rising antisemitism.

Khan said the museum has added more programming and exhibits about antisemitism in the past two years and has committed to telling stories about Jewish displacement in the future.

"We're actively working to combat antisemitism. We've been unequivocal that that is our responsibility as a museum for human rights."

The museum also conducted more reviews of the exhibit after calls to do so, including by Gail Asper, daughter of the late Izzy Asper, who conceived of the museum.

Both external and internal reviews are done, and the exhibit didn't change.

Museum spokeswoman Amanda Gaudes said it's still developing public programming and web content and will consider all feedback as part of that process.

Shack said that despite talking with the museum, his concerns haven't been addressed, and he's looking for the federal government to step in.

"We're calling on the minister of Canadian Heritage to hold the leadership of the museum accountable and ensure that our national institutions are not weaponized against Canadians to serve a one-sided political agenda," he said.

Minister Marc Miller was asked during question period Tuesday about the exhibit and concern it could support foreign agendas. He didn't indicate he would take any action.

"It is not the place of the minister or any member of the House to dictate museum policy and what is curated and what is not," he said.

A spokesperson for Miller didn't respond to a request for further comment.

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Khan said the museum has done nothing wrong.

"We stand behind our curatorial practice. It's independent, it's thorough and it's led by a team of individuals who have many, many years of experience in research," she said.

"There is no question there are human rights stories of Palestinians that need to be shared. And in this national museum, we saw that there was a need for that content, and we can do it responsibly."

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