The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present” exhibit has been at the centre of controversy well before its opening in Winnipeg on Saturday, June 27.
On Monday, Heritage Minister, Marc Miller weighed in, saying the museum erred in its curation.
“There are some words in there that are regrettable. Not identifying Hamas as a terrorist organization is, I think, a failure. And not clearly stating that, for example, Hamas intended to kill Jews is, I think, an unfortunate error in curation and should be rectified,” he told the Canadian Press.
Miller saw the exhibit Thursday June 25, prior to the official opening, but did not comment until Monday. He says he won’t intervene with the museum’s content but is concerned about the CMHR’s curatorial process.
The CMHR contends in a statement they “have referred to Hamas’ October 7th attack as a terrorist attack on numerous occasions” and “there is no doubt that the intent of the attack was to murder Jewish people.
“Our research indicates there were people of other nationalities and religious identities who were also murdered by Hamas on October 7th, which informed the use of the word ‘people’ in our exhibit text,” the museum said in a statement sent to The CJN.
Miller’s statement comes after Jewish groups, Israel’s ambassador to Canada and notably Mark Berlin, the sole Jewish member of the museum’s board, called on the minister to take action. After serving for almost nine years on the CMHR’s board of trustees, Berlin, a McGill law professor and human rights lawyer, resigned in protest over the exhibit.
“The minister has the authority, and it is his purview, to appoint or dismiss board members and the CEO, because we serve at pleasure. And I’m not sure how pleased the minister still is…He is the minister responsible for this museum. If he chooses to, he could make firm suggestions, he could point directions, he could give advice, he could direct.” Berlin said in an interview with The CJN’s North Star podcast, before the exhibit opened.
One of the main criticisms from Jewish advocacy groups, and Berlin, was the CMHR’s lack of transparency with the board. No board member was afforded the opportunity to see the exhibit ahead of time.
Miller echoed that concern. “Any failure of curation is one that really should be directed to the board that does need to do its job,” he said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has been speaking publicly about the problematic nature of the exhibit since development began. In a statement released this week, Noah Shack, CEO of the advocacy group, criticized the museum’s approach and argued it will continue to fuel antisemitism.
“We warned the museum for months about the dangers of its approach, which rejected consultation with experts and meaningful engagement with impacted communities in favour of advice from extreme activists. We are already seeing the real-world consequences of this, just days after the exhibit’s opening, with hateful messages appearing at the museum.”
In a post on X, CIJA highlighted the minister’s remarks.
“Yesterday, the Heritage Minister confirmed that the museum’s leadership failed in both governance and curation, including by whitewashing Hamas terrorism and the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
The CMHR says they have a revision process and have shared the minister’s feedback with their curation team.