Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center has sent a formal legal demand letter to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (“CMHR") in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, raising serious concerns regarding the Museum’s planned exhibit, "Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present," scheduled to open next month.
In the letter, Shurat HaDin argues that the exhibit, as presently conceived, risks exceeding the Museum’s statutory mandate as a federally funded human rights institution and may contribute to discrimination and hostility targeting Jewish Canadians during a period of sharply rising antisemitism across Canada.
The legal demand letter raises concerns regarding:
* potential breaches of the federal Museums Act;
* possible violations of federal and provincial human rights legislation;
* concerns relating to institutional bias and lack of meaningful consultation with Jewish stakeholders; and
* the risk that the exhibit presents an inaccurate and/or biased, one-sided, and historically inaccurate and/or incomplete narrative concerning the creation of the State of Israel and the events of 1948 contrary to the purpose and mission of the Museum; and tending to raise unrest or disorder targeting Jewish people, and Israelis.
"Publicly funded institutions have a responsibility to approach contested historical issues with fairness, balance, and intellectual integrity, and only in accordance with their mandate" said Adv. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, President of Shurat HaDin. "A national human rights museum cannot become a platform for politicized narratives that risk contributing to division and misunderstanding including here by erasing Jewish history, delegitimizing Jewish self-determination, or contributing to hostility against the Jewish community."
The letter calls upon the CMHR to pause the exhibit pending independent legal and scholarly review, establish a balanced advisory process including mainstream Jewish organizations and historians with diverse perspectives, and ensure compliance with applicable Canadian law and international museum standards.