Canadian Minister and Human Rights Museum Clash Over Palestine Exhibition

Canada’s minister of identity and culture has raised concerns about both curation and governance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, following the opening of the museum’s controversial exhibition about Palestinian displacement last weekend.

Speaking to The Canadian Press earlier this week, Marc Miller said the museum should reconsider the language used in Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present in relation to the current conflict in Gaza, and raised questions about the role of the organisation’s board.

He told the national news agency: “It isn’t up to me to speak to, or insert myself in, the curation of any particular exhibit. But manifestly, you cannot deny the fact that this is an exhibit that is born in controversy—and perhaps some of it could have been avoided.”

He continued: “There are some words in there that are regrettable. Not identifying Hamas as a terrorist organisation is, I think, a failure. And not clearly stating that, for example, Hamas intended to kill Jews is, I think, an unfortunate error in curation and should be rectified.”

He added that he was “surprised” to hear allegations that the museum’s board was not able to see the exhibition before it opened, a move he described as “an error in governance”.

A spokesperson for the Museum for Human Rights told Ocula that Miller’s concerns will form part of an “established content revision process”, and pointed out that the museum has referred to Hamas’ 7 October attack as terrorism “on numerous occasions”.

Speaking to local media ahead of the exhibition’s opening, the museum’s chief executive, Isha Khan, defended her organisation’s work. She said: “I think people want to see this work as a binary, as a one side versus two sides, and it isn’t. It’s human rights work, it’s about [asking]: how do we find our shared humanity through our storytelling.”

As per the United Nations, the Nakba—which means “catastrophe” in Arabic—refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which began following the partition of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel.

On its website, the museum describes its exhibition on the topic as an exploration of “the human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement and dispossession of Palestinians” which uses art, text and video testimonies to “reveal enduring patterns of loss and resistance”.

It continues: “As with all content at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, this exhibit centres personal voices and stories, and is grounded in a rigorous process of research and curation.”

Tension surrounding the show began shortly after it was announced by the government-funded museum in late 2025, and reached a crescendo ahead of its opening on 27 June, when protestors gathered outside the space.

Five days earlier, Mark Berlin, reportedly the museum’s only Jewish board member, resigned his post. In an op-ed published by The Hub, the human rights lawyer attributed his decision to an “incomplete exhibit” that will “inevitably promote a one-sided, unbalanced interpretation of Israeli history, Zionism, and the Arab-Israeli conflict”.

Responding to Berlin’s resignation, Noah Shack, chief executive of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, called on Miller to intervene. According to the Jewish advocacy organisation, more than 11,000 people have since signed a petition urging the Canadian government to hold museum officials to account for a “failure of governance, transparency, and public trust”.

A spokesperson for the Museum for Human Rights told Ocula that Palestine Uprooted “is not a commentary on Zionism or antizionism, nor is it a challenge to the legitimacy of the state of Israel” and that “focusing in this one exhibit on the human violations faced by of Palestinian Canadians does not negate the human rights violations faced by Jewish people”.

They continued: “Mr. Berlin’s letter presents the opinions and perspectives of the Jewish community as a monolith. We understand his concerns…However we always exercise curatorial independence.”

Other Jewish organisations have defended both the Museum of Human Rights and its exhibition. Last week, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, Jewish Faculty Network and United Jewish People’s Order Canada published a public letter titled Dear Museum, with Love, in which the museum was commended for its “commitment to this exhibition and continuing to tell the stories of marginalised communities”. 

The letter continued: “Despite significant pressure and attempts to challenge or undermine its inclusion, the museum has remained committed to presenting Palestinian perspectives and engaging the public by sharing their experiences, histories and ongoing realities. 

“In doing so, the museum has demonstrated the kind of leadership to which our national institutions aspire, aligning directly with values that we strive so hard to forward in Canada including multiculturalism, diversity, equity and human rights.”

A relatively new addition to Canada’s cultural landscape, the Winnipeg-based Canadian Museum of Human Rights was announced by founder Israel Asper—a lawyer, media mogul and son of Jewish Ukrainian immigrants—in 2003, and opened its doors in 2014. Its mandate is to “enhance the public’s understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others, and to encourage reflection and dialogue”.