OPINION: The travesty of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’Nakba Exhibit

I have been a volunteer with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) since its inception, from 2004 with Friends of the CMHR, when it was still a unique and inspirational idea unfolding from the ingenious mind of Israel (Izzy) Asper, through its...

I have been a volunteer with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) since its inception, from 2004 with Friends of the CMHR, when it was still a unique and inspirational idea unfolding from the ingenious mind of Israel (Izzy) Asper, through its opening in 2014, until 2024. I believe the recent opening of the CMHR’s Nakba exhibit, “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present,” is a complete travesty. And I feel personally betrayed as well as heartsick for the Asper family, Moe Levy, and all the generous (mainly Jewish) donors who made Izzy’s dream a reality.

I became fully committed to Israel Asper’s transformative vision of a better world through education in human rights from the outset. And I remained so until 2021 when I learned of the alarming plans for this exhibit and, specifically, of the untrustworthy (known anti-Israel, antisemitic Palestinian Canadians) being consulted.