Canada’s Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg is embroiled in controversy over plans to open a major exhibit titled “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present” on June 27. The controversy exists on multiple fronts, including that the exhibit is not historically accurate, does not meet Canada’s own standards (yet is federally funded), is one-sided, risks inciting antisemitism, and undermines the museum’s own mandate.
Rev. Don James is the CEO of Bridges for Peace Canada. He’s not Jewish but is very close to the Jewish community in Winnipeg, where the epicenter of the controversy and the CMHR are based. Personally, and representing Bridges for Peace, which has more than half a century of leadership in building bridges among Christians in support of Israel, James is also close to Israel and the broader Jewish community. He is also an ardent Zionist, highlighting the very offense of the museum not just to Jews, but also threats to Zionists broadly, as dangerous for all.
James explains the genesis of the controversy about the exhibit, noting that “pro-Palestinian” activists in Manitoba had long pressured the museum to present content focused on the “Nakba,” the Arabic term for “catastrophe” used to describe the events surrounding Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and, specifically, the very existence of the State of Israel for which Palestinian Arabs and their supporters view as the original sin.
Accusations against the CMHR and the exhibit are not conjecture. The museum’s own website blurs lines that erase historical truth and refer not only to past grievances from 1948 but “human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement and dispossession of Palestinians… (and) Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for justice and human rights. Together with art, photos, and text, these elements reveal enduring patterns of loss and resistance. For Palestinians, the Nakba is both their history and their present — it is an ongoing process shaping every aspect of life today.”
If there were any hesitation about the conflation of the dubiously described events of 1948 with the “Nakba” being “ongoing,” the images used to illustrate the exhibit depict Arabs seemingly fleeing in black and white photos then, and allegations of a modern “Nakba” of displaced Gazans within Gaza during the current war, ongoing.
While emphasizing “personal Palestinian” Arab stories of displacement, the exhibit omits critical historical context, including the Arab rejection of the U.N. partition plan, Arab leaders’ calls for their civilian population to flee in advance of the invasion of the newborn Jewish state by five Arab armies, and the 800,000-plus Jewish refugees expelled from Arab countries during the same period.
This lack of balance and historical accuracy is at the core of a demand letter that was sent to the CMHR by Shurat HaDin, a legal advocacy group based in Israel. The letter argues the exhibit may violate Canada’s federal Museums Act, human rights legislation, and international museum standards by presenting a politicized, incomplete narrative that delegitimizes Jewish self-determination and risks inciting hostility toward Jewish Canadians at a time of sharply rising antisemitism.
It further argues that the exhibit as planned essentially draws a parallel to Israel’s very existence as a human rights violation, erasing the very legitimacy of Jewish self-determination in the Land of Israel. It notably does not call for shutting down the exhibit but for immediately suspending “all work on and public promotion of the…exhibit in its current form.” It further calls for a thoughtful, balanced approach that is not only fair but necessary according to Canadian and international standards.
As part of the problem, James noted the museum had an obligation to consult a broader sector of the community as well as voices from the Jewish community. However, he explained that the CMHR consulted primarily with radical Jewish voices and “Palestinian” advocacy groups that have long been delegitimized themselves for their radical and fringe views, rather than mainstream Jewish organizations or balanced historians. He emphasized that the exhibit’s framing, describing 1948 as forced expulsion without acknowledging Arab-initiated warfare and Jewish suffering, distorts historical reality. He pointed out that many Arabs left at the urging of their own leaders, expecting a quick victory and then returning to reclaim their own properties and those of their (former) Jewish neighbors, while Jewish communities across the Arab world were destroyed.
The Bridges for Peace leader expressed deep concern that the exhibit will not only misinform the public, particularly school groups, but also actively contribute to the dangerous atmosphere already facing Canadian Jews. Protests against Jewish and pro-Israel events have become so widespread in Canada that Jewish organizations and even pro-Israel Christians like Bridges for Peace often must keep event venues secret for security reasons.
James stressed the biblical and moral imperative for Christians to stand with Israel and truth. He rejected the false equivalence of “two narratives,” insisting that “truth is not subject to my truth and your truth.” He encouraged Christians to recognize the prophetic significance of Israel’s restoration and to oppose narratives that demonize the Jewish return to their ancestral homeland.
The CMHR, originally envisioned and funded by Jewish philanthropist Izzy Asper as a Canadian counterpart to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, has evolved into a more generalized human rights museum after accepting government funding. This shift, James argued, opened the door to political pressures that have diluted its original mission.
The May 14 demand letter requested a reply from CMHR within 14 days, an immediate pause of the exhibit, independent legal and scholarly review, inclusion of mainstream Jewish perspectives, and a public clarification that the creation of Israel is not itself a human rights violation. It referenced a broad range of possible legal actions that might take place. James noted that the museum’s reply was unsatisfactory. With the June 27 scheduled opening of the exhibit, James discussed action items that average people could do. He suggested contacting Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller, and the CMHR CEO Isha Khan, to demand balance, transparency, and compliance with the museum’s mandate.
While the contentious issue is centered in Winnipeg, the 850,000-person capital of Canada’s Manitoba province, it is a wake-up call about the battle for historical truth in public institutions and the risk, even very real threat, that an exhibit like this, one funded by and under the roof of a Canadian federal institution, can cause lasting damage and a clear and present danger. Silence or appeasement in the face of such one-sided, distorted narratives — including that of one of the people who has been at the center of the exhibit calling for the eradication of Zionism, and by association all Zionists like James and millions of Christians as well as Jews, only emboldens those who seek to delegitimize Israel and endanger Jewish communities.
Sadly, defending Israel today is about more than policies of the Jewish State, but has become inseparable from defending truth, historical integrity, and the safety of Jewish communities worldwide.
You can find the contact information for Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller here and Canadian Museum for Human Rights CEO Isha Kahn here. Ironically, the address of the museum — 85 Israel Asper Way, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 0L5 — is named for its visionary Jewish founder who, by virtue of his very name, would be made unwelcome in the very institution he founded and funded.
Follow the entire conversation with Don James on YouTube here and on the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast here.