WINNIPEG — B’nai Brith Canada is urging the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) to consult Jewish organizations, including B’nai Brith itself, before proceeding with its proposed exhibit related to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war.
Dr. Ruth Ashrafi, B’nai Brith Canada’s Regional Director for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, emphasized the organization’s longstanding role in defending human rights. “We are the oldest human rights organization in Canada, and we should have a seat at the table,” she said. “This exhibit centers around a contested topic, and the way it is presented will have a real impact on Jewish Canadians.”
Over the past decade, the CMHR has faced mounting pressure from various groups to develop an exhibit focused on the Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” a central term in Palestinian narratives about the events surrounding Israel’s creation. In December 2023, protesters occupied the museum demanding that the Nakba and alleged Israeli human rights abuses be formally commemorated.
Responding to media inquiries at the time, a CMHR spokesperson stated that the Museum planned to collaborate with Palestinian Canadians to curate a gallery highlighting what they described as “the human rights violations Palestinians experience every day.”
B’nai Brith Canada has repeatedly raised concerns about the proposed curation process, issuing several letters, including a 100-page historical and legal analysis prepared by human rights lawyer and Senior Legal Counsel David Matas, and meeting with CMHR officials. Although the Museum previously indicated that it would maintain communication, it has not responded to the organization’s most recent correspondence nor clarified which, if any, Jewish organizations it has consulted.
The organization remains concerned that museum officials may not have engaged credible historians or Jewish and Israeli Canadian experts. In its communications with the CMHR, B’nai Brith has warned that presenting one narrative to the exclusion of others would fuel division and spark political turmoil. These concerns have only intensified since the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, which triggered a surge in antisemitism and violent extremism across Canada.
“We have asked to be included in the CMHR’s consultations,” Dr. Ashrafi said. “CMHR said it would get back to us, but it never did. The Museum should provide proper historical context when depicting such a polarizing issue. Otherwise, it is engaging in one-sided politics, not history.”
CMHR officials have defended the planned exhibit by saying it was conceptualized “long before” the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and that no museum exhibit can fully capture every human-rights experience. However, they have not addressed Jewish community recommendations that any such gallery include narratives such as the displacement of the 850,000 Jews expelled from Middle Eastern and North African countries between the late 1940s and 1970s.
“A public museum such as the CMHR has a particular mandate,” said Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer. “Given the title of the proposed gallery and the lack of consultation, we are concerned it will sideline the voices of Jewish Canadians and promote a revisionist narrative.
“There is still an opportunity for the CMHR to change course. We urge the Museum to answer our calls and collaborate with us to ensure that its curations reflect its mandate to educate the public about human rights and the lived experiences of all Canadians, past and present.”
