Coalition calls on minister to withdraw criticism of museum’s Palestinian exhibit

OTTAWA — A coalition of civil society groups is pushing back against criticism by a federal cabinet minister and Jewish organizations of a museum exhibit on Palestinian displacement.

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, a federal Crown corporation in Winnipeg, has faced a torrent of criticism over its exhibit on the Nakba, the forced displacement of about 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Culture Minister Marc Miller has said the museum failed by not naming Hamas in the exhibit as a terrorist organization that targets Jews, while Jewish groups say the exhibit portrays only one side of a complex history.

Dozens of groups are set to issue a joint statement today voicing support for the museum and pushing back against what they call political interference in its operations.