Museum exhibit on displaced Palestinians to open - BERITAJA

WINNIPEG – The caput of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights says it’s unfortunate a trustee resigned complete an grounds about displaced Palestinians but she stands by the determination for it to unfastened to the nationalist Saturday.

The exhibit, titled “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present,” focuses connected group affected by the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. About 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced successful 1948 during fighting complete power of what is now Israel.

The grounds has been successful the useful for 4 years, though Palestinian Canadians person been calling for their stories to beryllium told astatine the Winnipeg depository since it opened successful 2014.

Jewish groups person raised concerns that the grounds could substance antisemitism by not providing much humanities discourse and that it was created without capable consultation and transparency.

Dozens of group rallied extracurricular the depository precocious Friday day successful protestation of the exhibit. They carried signs reference “Don’t erase Jewish experience” and “Facts not feelings.”

Earlier this week, committee personnel Mark Berlin submitted his resignation, accusing the depository of putting distant ideology alternatively of an meticulous history.

“It’s unfortunate that (Berlin) chose to resign based connected his opinions about this grounds and what he knew of it,” Isha Khan, the museum’s main executive officer, said Friday.

“Board governance is intended to negociate different opinions and make decisions that are from the champion interests of this depository and to guarantee that we present our mandate. I judge that’s what our committee has done — supported this depository to do the activity to present our mandate.”

Berlin, who hadn’t seen the grounds earlier resigning, said it didn’t admit the estimated 850,000 Jewish group who were forced to fly Arab countries successful the years pursuing the constitution of Israel.

He said presenting the Palestinian displacement of 1948 without due humanities and governmental discourse could deepen the distrust and animosity that beryllium betwixt Jews and Muslims successful Canada.

Khan said stories of Palestinian Canadians person been underrepresented successful the museum’s galleries.

She said she has heard disapproval from group and groups who haven’t yet seen the Nakba grounds and challenged them to position it pinch compassion and empathy.

“Sharing the experiences of 1 organization doesn’t diminish aliases negate the acquisition of another.”

Khan said the depository has committed to telling stories about Jewish displacement successful the future. And she encouraged those captious of the grounds to measurement into the abstraction first.

“Then we could person immoderate constructive chat about what it is and what their concerns mightiness be. To this point, galore of those concerns were based connected what it could beryllium and fear.”

The depository invited media to position the grounds Friday.

Taking up about 12 metres of an existing gallery, it includes video testimonies, photographs, creation and writings. Property deeds, location keys and heavy reddish embroidered clothing are besides among featured artifacts.

A timeline references displacements connected some sides: “Before, during and aft the war, hundreds of thousands of group became refugees. These included Palestinian Arabs arsenic good arsenic Jews from surrounding countries.”

Short videos connected a mini surface stock first-hand accounts of Palestinian Canadians displaced successful 1948.

Isabelle Masson, curator of the exhibit, said pinch about 10 Palestinian Canadians successful Winnipeg and Montreal for the project.

She said their stories helped the squad understand the humanities impacts of displacement and highlighted the dream of Palestinians.

“The accumulation holds stories about this intergenerational trauma, about nonaccomplishment and uprooting, but besides stories about beauty, taste believe and art.”

Fouad Sahyoun was 4 erstwhile his family was displaced from Haifa successful what is now known arsenic Israel. He settled successful Canada successful 1990.

Portions of an question and reply pinch the 82-year-old are featured. He talks about really his grandfather’s properties were seized, on pinch the family’s cars, slope accounts and furniture.

In an question and reply pinch BERITAJA, he said he dreams of 1 time returning to Haifa arsenic a Palestinian citizen.

“We unrecorded nether trauma, and that trauma will only extremity erstwhile we’re allowed to spell backmost arsenic decent people, arsenic quality people, successful our homes and properties.”

Sahyoun hopes the grounds educates others to “know our story, cognize what we went through.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published June 26, 2026.