CAEF Letter to Ms Isha Khan, CEO, CMHR regarding the "Nakba" Exhibit which fails to meet museum's own human rights standards

June 19, 2026

Ms Isha Khan, CEO

Canadian Museum of Human Rights

85 Israel Asper Way

Winnipeg, MB R3C 0L5

Isha.khan@humanrights.ca

Re: Proposed Nakba Exhibition

Dear Ms Khan;

We first wrote to you in December 2023 to express our sincere concern that an exhibit

about the so-called Nakba would portray a one-sided, even concocted narrative, not

based on historical fact and potentially detrimential to peace and co-existence among

several communities in Canada. We did not object because we want to deny anything

that is factual, but but to elucidate facts which the proposed exhibit would not do.

We were correct.

We are writing now with concern for all Canadian citizens; we urge the Canadian

Museum for Human Rights to reconsider proceeding with its planned exhibition,

Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present, in its current form or at minimum to ensure that

it presents a balanced, historically rigorous, and inclusive account that reflects the

complexity of the subject.

As a federally funded institution entrusted with educating Canadians about human

rights, the Museum has a responsibility to approach highly contested historical and

political issues with fairness, intellectual integrity, and sensitivity to the impact such

programming may have on affected communities. This exhibit cannot claim to

acknowledge human rights of one group while creating human rights violations towards

another group.

As we are sure you are aware, Canada is currently experiencing an alarming, dangerous

rise in antisemitism, including violence and intimidation towards Jewish individuals,

students and Jewish educational and religious organizations. Political leaders across the

country, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, have acknowledged the seriousness of

this crisis and the fear being experienced by many Jewish Canadians. At such a

moment, public institutions must take particular care to avoid presenting narratives that

could contribute to division, hostility, or the marginalization of any community.

Our concern is not with the study of history itself, nor with the discussion of Arab

experiences. Rather, it is that the proposed exhibition is unlikely to present the full

historical context surrounding the events of 1947–1949 and the creation of the State of Israel.

This exhibition seeks to further a narrative, not teach historical facts, and therefore only serves to invite more pain and suffering to all parties concerned. It ignores the fact that Arab leaders, not Jews, drove Arabs from their homes when they chose to invade Israel after May 14, 1948, but not all left. Today, 21% of the Israeli population is Arab and Arabs serve in all facets of society, have full and equal rights. Despite false claims of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the Arab population in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, has also grown substantially-hardly the expected outcome if Israel was trying to eliminate said population.

If anything, the continued plight of Palestinian Arabs must be seen in the context of the persistent evil ideology that focuses on hate towards the Jewish people and denies the history of Jews who come from Judea, the history of Jewish sovereignty in the Land, and the legal right of the Jews to re-constitute the country in their historic ancient homeland. The Arabs, who are suffering, are those under governance by Arab leaders intent on destroying Israel, even 78 years later ie the PA, Hamas, Hezbollah.

Will the exhibition explain the origins of the term "Nakba," originally popularized by Syrian intellectual Constantin Zureiq in the context of the Arab world’s failure, after launching a pan-Arab war, to eradicate the Jews? Will the exhibit only feed the narrative that is based on an anti-Jewish political and ahistorical, Islamist religious narrative? Will it acknowledge the British Mandate period and the international legal and diplomatic framework that preceded Israel's independence? Will it speak to the defeat of the Ottoman empire, an expansionist colonial project that was removed by the Victorious Allied Powers after WWI?

Will this exhibit discuss the United Nations Partition Plan and the fact that Jewish leaders accepted partition while Arab leadership rejected it? Will it include David Ben-Gurion's 1948 Declaration of Independence, in which he appealed to the Arab inhabitants of the new state to participate in its development as equal citizens?

Will your exhibit acknowledge the millions of Arab Israelis who are accorded all human rights in Israel and the denial of Jewish rights throughout the Middle East? Does the “Nakba” exhibit include the many years of land for peace negotiations? The Oslo and Abraham Accords? Will it acknowledge that Amin al-Hussani, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was an ardent antisemite who allied with Nazi Germany, shared Hitler's hatred of Jews, and the vision of eradicating Jews entirely? Will your exhibition show the official record in which Hitler promised al-Hussani that Germany would eventually destroy the Jewish presence in the Arab world once German forces reached the region?

Will your exhibit acknowledge that the newly declared State of Israel was immediately attacked by 7 neighboring Arab armies, creating a war whose consequences affected both Arabs and Jews throughout the region?

Will it recognize the displacement not only of Palestinian Arabs but also of hundreds of thousands of Jews who were killed, expelled or fled from Arab countries in subsequent years, and whose property was confiscated for which no compensation has ever been paid?

These are not peripheral questions. They are central to understanding the history being presented.The Museum itself has emphasized the dangers of misinformation and disinformation during times of conflict. On its website, it warns that narratives can be weaponized when facts are removed from context or selectively presented. That principle should apply equally to all exhibitions and educational programming. A national human rights museum should not become a platform for any one-sided political narrative. It should be a forum where Canadians encounter difficult history in all its complexity, based on historical evidence, as well as the perspectives of all affected peoples.

Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Museum:

• Review the exhibition to ensure that it presents a balanced historical account and includes relevant context surrounding the establishment of Israel.

• Consult broadly with qualified historians and subject-matter experts representing a diversity of scholarly perspectives.

• Include the perspectives of Jewish Canadians and experts in Jewish history, antisemitism, Zionism, and Middle Eastern history.

• Ensure that educational materials distinguish between established historical facts, interpretations, and advocacy.

• Consider whether the exhibition, as currently conceived, aligns with the Museum's mandate

to promote human rights, understanding, and social cohesion.

Canadians deserve programming that informs rather than inflames, educates rather than

advocates, and encourages understanding rather than division. Public confidence in the Museum depends upon its commitment to fairness, accuracy, and intellectual honesty. Canadians cannot allow our publicly funded institutions to be a breeding ground for human rights’ violations, divisiveness and misleading information.

Recently, the Muslim Association of Canada, one if the largest Islamic organizations in our nation, hosted a youth conference where young people were invited to state what is in their vision for their Canadian future. This question produced the following phrase, “Jew Free". Your exhibition is happening in the context in which this type of dangerous, hateful rhetoric is prevalent. If we are to learn from history, then it is essential that we choose to promote educational opportunities that nurture lessons that bring us all together celebrating values that promote peaceful coexistence, mutual compassion, and greater self-awareness.

Unfortunately, from the very outset of your choice to frame this as a human rights violation by Israeli forces, the Museum is choosing to deny facts, misrepresent or ignore history, and deny legal aspects of the War initiated by the Arabs against the nascent Jewish state. Today that war continues fueled by terrorist entities like Hamas and Hezbollah, and not by actions of Israel.

Canadian institutions must be held accountable for allowing extremist propaganda to pass as education rather than indoctrination. The photo you chose to exhibit of the 2025 movement of the Hamas led population in Gaza is an example of the consequences of radical ideology that focuses on hate at all costs. The Gazan population was moved to protect it from being hurt while Israeli forces searched for the kidnapped Israeli and international citizens that were brutally kidnapped, tortured and murdered by Hamas, the governing body in Gaza.

Context is needed if we're going to ensure that Canada remains a safe and welcoming country that promotes shared values of human rights for all. If these values are not shared, then what is it that the Canadian Museum of Human Rights is trying to display?

We urge you to carefully reconsider this exhibition and ensure that any presentation of this subject reflects the full historical record and the diverse experiences of all peoples leading up to and affected by the events of 1948 and its aftermath.

Thank you for your serious attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Andria Spindel, Executive Director

Cc Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture

Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister

Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario

Hon. Scott Gillingham, Mayor of Winnipeg