CIJA Calls for Accountability in CMHR’s Proposed Exhibit

Winnipeg, MB – November 20, 2025 – In response to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ announcement that they will be hosting a controversial Nakba exhibit, Gustavo Zentner, Vice President – Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the following statement:

“The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has rightly earned an international reputation for its rigorous consultation processes that bring together subject-matter experts, affected communities, and individuals with lived experience to fulfill its mandate to “contribute to the collective memory and sense of identity of all Canadians.”

“When the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs learned of the Museum’s intention to profile the experiences of refugees from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, we immediately engaged with the Museum’s leadership. We offered to convene leading experts to help ensure that any exhibit presents a balanced, fact-based, and comprehensive narrative, one that reflects the experiences of all refugees, including the more than 850,000 Jews forcibly displaced from long-established communities across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Recent reports regarding a controversial Nakba exhibit have heightened our concerns, particularly because our community has not been consulted. This is despite our repeated and explicit offers to contribute historical expertise and lived experience. As currently framed, the proposed direction will deliver an incomplete and unbalanced narrative, one that omits Jewish refugee experiences entirely and will carry reputational consequences for the Museum.

“To ensure the Museum fulfills its mandate, we have requested information from its leadership about the exhibit’s content, framing, objectives, and development process, before any further steps are taken. We are actively working with our community and with partner institutions across Canada to demand accountability.”

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