{"id":296681,"date":"2025-11-21T02:26:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296681\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T02:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:26:22","slug":"nakba-exhibit-at-canadian-museum-for-human-rights-to-draw-on-palestinian-oral-histories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296681\/","title":{"rendered":"Nakba exhibit at Canadian Museum for Human Rights to draw on Palestinian oral histories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg will open the mixed-media exhibit in June, 2026.Shannon VanRaes\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is launching a new exhibit examining the Nakba, a period beginning in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were displaced in the war over Israel\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n

Drawing on the oral histories of the Palestinian<\/a> diaspora in Canada, the mixed-media display will open in June. It is set to remain a permanent part of the Winnipeg-based museum\u2019s standing galleries for at least two years, chief executive officer Isha Khan told The Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n

After years of protests and demonstrations outside the national museum demanding such an exhibit, advocates from several Jewish and Palestinian groups expressed elation about what they believe is a long overdue step toward public education. But at least two Canadian Jewish groups condemned the planned exhibit, stating that it undermines the legitimacy of Israeli<\/a> statehood. One of them has withdrawn from future collaborations.<\/p>\n

Palestinian flag raised at Toronto City Hall, in other communities across Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Khan said she understands why the exhibit may cause dissent. However, it is part of the facility\u2019s mandate to foster respectful debate through well-informed dialogue, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been advocating for more content that shares Palestinian stories in the museum,\u201d she said in an interview Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there is no question that, right now, in an increasingly polarized environment, people want to understand. People want to navigate issues of human rights particularly as they are impacting folks in the Middle East and around this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said a team of researchers, academics, interpretive planners and designers have been working toward curating the exhibit \u2013 titled Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present \u2013 for at least four years. <\/p>\n

Situated in a gallery on the fifth floor of the museum, the exhibit will combine different mediums and materials to recount the Nakba through videos, static art, the written word and interactive presentations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be able to tell every human-rights story,\u201d Ms. Khan said. \u201cBut we\u2019re glad that we\u2019ve been working on this for a while. I think there\u2019s no time like now to make sure that these stories are told.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fearing permanent exile, displaced Palestinians struggle to rebuild their lives in Egypt<\/a><\/p>\n

James Kafieh, vice-president of the non-profit Palestinian Canadian Congress, lauded the museum for \u201cmemorializing a foremost part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, Palestinians have worked to have their history \u2013 our history \u2013 recognized with accuracy and dignity,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cThis exhibit signals that our story will no longer be sidelined. It affirms that Palestinian experiences, culture and memory belong in Canada\u2019s public narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rana Abdulla, an artist who has been asking for more Palestinian work to be displayed at the museum over the years, agreed, stating that the new showcase will help protect future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur stories have been carried in our families, our art and our memories. Bringing them into a national museum ensures they cannot be erased,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But Amir Epstein, executive director of Tafsik Organization, a Canadian civil-rights group fighting antisemitism, is concerned the exhibit will be biased.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this is a display that will actually showcase the facts and properly explain what happened in the period around 1948, then I\u2019m all for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for that to happen, it will need to include the perspective of many Jews like myself, who celebrate the Nakba. Because for us, it means we got to survive. We got to see Israel, and we got to see it become the gem of the Middle East after all that our people had been through.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada said it is ending its partnerships with the Winnipeg museum, such as those for the development of galleries about the Holocaust, because of the new exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are concerned that the museum may present an unbalanced view of history \u2013 devoid of scholarly best practices,\u201d the Centre said in a statement.<\/p>\n

However, in a joint statement, a coalition of three Jewish organizations \u2013 Independent Jewish Voices Canada, United Jewish Peoples Order and Jewish Faculty Network \u2013 added their support for the exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Jews committed to opposing all forms of racism and state violence, we believe that understanding the history of the Nakba is morally urgent. Right now, we are watching a live-streamed genocide,\u201d wrote Iso Setel, spokesperson for Independent Jewish Voices, referring to Israel\u2019s war with Hamas. (Israel has rejected allegations that it is committing genocide<\/a> in Gaza<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporting this exhibition is an affirmation of the Jewish values of empathy, justice, and accountability,\u201d added Sarena Sairan, executive director of the United Jewish Peoples Order. \u201cAcknowledging the Nakba does not attack Jewish identity; it strengthens our moral integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg will open the mixed-media exhibit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40,2785],"class_list":{"0":"post-296681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories","14":"tag-yessnap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}