CAEF Letter to Isha Khan, CEO CMHR, on the Nakba Exhibit's Misinformation

Ms Isha Khan, CEO, Canadian Museum of Human Rights

Dear Ms Khan,

You have obstinately refused to accept the fact that the Nakba Exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights is not only biased and misinformed, but it also supports a disinformation campaign that harms Canadian Jews by negating evidence. Misleading the public cannot be justified by stating the exhibit is personal “narratives.” Let me share a few historical, well documented facts with you and ask that you respond directly to this letter.

This is the executive summary of an article by Dr. David Bercuson and Logan Jaspers published by the Aristotle Foundation, not a Jewish organization. (Note the reference to “Palestine,” is referring to the British Mandate for Palestine.)

“Executive Summary

The popular view of the Nakba presented by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights falls short of the facts regarding events in Palestine following the UN partition vote of 1947. This study reviews those events, producing a balanced view of the causes and results of the Nakba and the subsequent status of Palestinian Arab refugees. Additionally, it reviews the situation of Jewish people in Palestine, the Middle East, and North Africa, reminding the reader that there are more facets to the story of displacement and human suffering than are presented by certain activists.

Key findings:

• The UN created an orderly plan for the partition of Palestine. The Jewish people accepted it, but the Palestinians refused to even consider the idea.

• After 13 months of violence, 700,000 Arabs had fled or been expelled from Mandatory Palestine and Israel, while 800,000 Jews were forced to flee North Africa and the Middle East and settle in Israel between 1948 and the early 1970s.

• Prior to 1947 there were major bouts of violence toward Jews in 1920 (the Nebi Musa Riots), 1921 (Jaffa Riots), 1929 (Hebron massacre plus attacks in Safed and Jerusalem), and 1936–1939 and 1945–1946 (Arab Revolts). In the period after 1930, as the Jews became more militarily active, Jews responded to attacks from Arab villages that were perceived as origins of attacks against Jews. Nevertheless, the record of violence after 1920 was overwhelmingly a record of Arab attacks against Jews.

• During the civil war both sides carried out unsavoury acts, but Israelis always claimed a military reason for the removal of populations, either to bolster communication lines or stop regular attacks being launched from Arab population centres.

• Jewish authorities actively encouraged Arab populations to remain in the new State of Israel but did not try to keep Arabs from fleeing if they so chose.

Based on a review of the documented evidence it is impossible to characterize the displacement of Arabs from Palestine as anything other than the consequences of warfare that accompany all major modern conflicts. The attempt to paint Israeli actions and the existence of the Jewish state as a deliberate violation of human rights is inconsistent with the facts.

Rather than a deliberate policy of the Israeli government, Palestinian Arabs had their own refusal to accept the partition settlement and their subsequent military defeat to blame for their perceived need to leave their homes. Those who remained in Israel were able to live as full citizens and thrive alongside the Jewish population.

The ultimate evidence of the incorrectness of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ characterization of the events is the utter destruction of Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East, and the continued thriving and participation of Arabs in Israeli life. In 1949 there were 156,000 Arabs living in Israel. Today, 21.1 percent of Israel’s population is Arab, totalling 2.15 million people.

Rather than focusing solely on criticism of Israel for its supposedly shameful treatment of Arabs, it is important to recognize that Jews by and large showed restraint and generosity to Arabs in their midst, something that Jews could not hope for in the surrounding countries. Wars always cause refugees, and the human costs of war must be laid at the feet of the aggressors, in this case the Palestinian Arabs themselves.”

The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation awaits your response. We hope you understand and agree that a publicly funded museum must present historical truths, evidence and unbiased information, and not displays of “narratives” and blatant propaganda that serves a narrow political perspective.

Regards,

Andria Spindel, Executive Director

cc: Mark Milke, President, Aristotle Foundation; Brian Crowley, Managing Director, Macdonald Laurier Institute; Rob Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, National Post; Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture