Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentAvi Benlolo: Human rights museum's Nakba exhibit must be suspendedThe Jewish community shouldn't support public projects in this climate of state-backed antisemitism You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Photo by James Snell/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedia NetworkThere is a powerful and probably controversial warning to the Jewish community that comes with the so-called, “Nakba” exhibit opening at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg: the dream of opening a human rights museum in Canada by the late Israel Asper was well-intentioned and may still have a future, but these days funding public institutions must come with a buyer-beware sticker.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe Jewish community has consistently been at the forefront of leading and participating in human rights advocacy. “Tikkun Olam,” the repair of the world, has been part of our heritage for millennia. It’s at the core of our religion. Our bible commands us to pursue justice: “Justice, justice you shall pursue” (Tzedek, Tzedek, tirdof — Deuteronomy, 16:20). Jewish women like Gloria Steinem played an outsized role in the feminist movement in the 1960s while Rabbi Abraham Heschel marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againHolocaust survivors like Elie Wiesel in America and Max Eisen in Canada drew from its lessons to educate the world about the consequences of hatred. Wiesel’s warning that “indifference is the greatest sin in the world” — the ultimate danger in other words — is the very reason Jews build places that promote human rights, like Holocaust museums and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.In his own memoir, By Chance Alone, Eisen described his wishful hope toward educating the public about the Holocaust: “I believe that a new generation can relate to the Holocaust and its lessons with an understanding of how evil can operate when it remains unchecked. It is my hope that the students I meet will combat racism and bigotry wherever they see it, and that they will speak out and make a positive difference in Canadian society.”The betterment of the world around us is the very drive that gives rise and context to Jewish philanthropy and support of our public institutions here in Canada. The Jewish community’s outrage is legitimate. The Nakba exhibit is there to undermine the legitimacy of Israel. In many ways, it is contradictory to the museum’s Holocaust exhibit, which is based on truth, consultation and transparency, something it appears the museum’s curators avoided.The Nakba was indeed a “catastrophe” for the Arabs who were upset they lost the war they launched after rejecting the United Nations partition plan to create a Palestinian and Jewish State. After declaring statehood in 1948, the State of Israel was attacked by six armies (Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia) and the Arabs themselves from within. The catastrophe (the Nakba) was a failure by the Arabs to eliminate Israel and drive the Jews into the sea.The museum is apparently being weaponized to tell an alternative reality about the Middle East conflict. Resigning from its board of trustees this week, Professor Mark Berlin accused the museum of putting forth “ideology” instead of accurate history: “Presenting the Palestinian displacement of 1948 without its proper historical and political context offers a narrow, one-sided argument of history that can only deepen the distrust and animosity that currently exists between Jews and Muslims in this country.”The museum’s political agenda goes even further. The museum wants to apply the Nakba narrative to today as well, writing in its summary of the exhibit, “For Palestinians, the Nakba is both their history and their present — it is an ongoing process shaping every aspect of life today.”In that case, it would also be fair to include the Hamas-Palestinian attack on Israel of October 7, 2023 and the Israeli hostage and rape testimonials.But this exhibit has been shrouded in mystery. Reportedly, it fails to acknowledge the estimated 850,000 Jewish refugees who were forced to flee Arab countries as refugees after the establishment of Israel. This includes my own family, who left Morocco in the 1950s and emigrated to a very difficult life in Israel. They were refugees, but they moved forward and rebuilt their lives in Israel, becoming productive members of society.Given the rising tide of antisemitism in this country, the museum’s mission to unify Canadians rather than sow more dissent and animosity and most importantly, questions about transparency and historical accuracy, the “Nakba” exhibit must be suspended by the government of Canada and the museum’s board of trustees.We have little choice but to draw sharp lessons from the weaponization of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. My message to the Jewish community and its allies is to put on ice any major support of public institutions, including universities. In this climate, unless legal guarantees are in place, we risk having our support misappropriated.National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.