Heritage Minister Says Palestinian Exhibit at Human Rights Museum Should Be Updated

Heritage Minister Marc Miller said Monday that the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg should revise an exhibit on displaced Palestinians that opened to the public Saturday. Miller told The Canadian Press that the display, which focuses on the 1948 displacement known as the Nakba, does not identify Hamas as a terrorist organization and does not state that Hamas intended to kill Jews.

He described both omissions as errors that should be corrected. The minister also said the museum should have shown the exhibit to its board before the public opening.

Background on the Exhibit The two-panel display examines the forcible displacement of about 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was developed over four years and has drawn criticism from Jewish groups and the Israeli government, which argue it lacks context about the period.

Arab and Muslim groups have welcomed the exhibit as an effort to present Palestinian perspectives on events that continue to shape the region.

Miller said he visited the museum Thursday and found some wording regrettable. He noted that the museum is an independent organization and said he would not direct its curation. The museum's only Jewish trustee, Mark Berlin, resigned last week, stating he had not been given an opportunity to review the exhibit in advance. The museum said it would provide a comment but had not responded by Monday.