Only Jewish Board member of CMHR resigns over 'one-sided' upcoming Nakba exhibition

Berlin, a legal scholar and human rights expert, was appointed to CMHR’s Board of Trustees in 2018. He is also a professor at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development with a background in human rights law.

Berlin resigned from his post at CMHR on Monday, stating that he could not be associated with the museum if it proceeded with its planned exhibition.

“Presenting the Palestinian displacement of 1948 without its proper historical and political context offers a narrow, one-sided argument of history that can only deepen the distrust and animosity that currently exists between Jews and Muslims in this country.

“The museum has a statutory and moral obligation to tell the full truth, not to sacrifice it at the altar of politics. By their actions, the museum’s mandate is thereby compromised along with the public’s confidence in its integrity.”

He added that it is difficult to understand how telling the story of Palestinian displacement in 1948 while omitting the simultaneous expulsion of 850,000 Jews from the Arab states can be viewed as “anything other than politically motivated.”

The letter, addressed to the Canadian Identity and Culture Minister, Hon. Marc Miller, also raised serious concerns about CMHR’s governance and its ability to fulfill its obligations pursuant to the Museums Act.

“Because the museum chooses to proceed with this exhibit in its present form despite repeated concerns raised by myself and members of the mainstream Jewish community, I can no longer, in good conscience, continue to serve as a trustee,” Berlin concluded.

“Mr. Berlin is a respected scholar and someone who has worked on the ground to promote peace and human rights in Israel and Palestine,” said Simon Wolle, the organization’s chief executive officer.

“His letter must serve as a wake-up call not only to the CMHR’s remaining trustees but [also] to Minister [Marc] Miller.”

Wolle said the government has sought to “shirk” its responsibility to intervene, despite significant concern that the Nakba exhibit will undermine the museum’s reputation and cause harm to Canadian society.

“With this new information, B’nai Brith hopes and expects that the finger-pointing will stop, that the government will hold itself and its stakeholders accountable, and that the repeated failures to take responsibility where it matters will once and for all be corrected,” he added.

On June 18, B’nai Brith Canada issued a set of clearly articulated expectations to the CMHR. Following Berlin’s resignation, the organization is escalating the matter with both CMHR and the federal government.

Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), said, “The resignation of the museum’s only Jewish board member is a clear indictment against the museum’s handling of the controversial ‘Nakba’ exhibit.”

“The lack of transparency in the exhibit’s development, including the prominent role played by political activists – one of whom has described our community’s identity as ‘a disease to be destroyed’ – has severely undermined confidence in a publicly funded institution and ultimately left its sole Jewish board representative feeling compelled to resign.”

Shack called on the Canadian Heritage minister to hold the museum’s leadership accountable and ensure that national institutions are “not weaponized against Canadians to serve a one-sided political agenda.”

CMHR has come out in support of its exhibit, despite Berlin’s exit.

On Tuesday, it published a statement saying the exhibit focuses on the lived experiences of Palestinian Canadians and the human rights impacts of forced displacement.

The museum said that this exhibit falls “squarely within our mandate” and “focusing this one exhibit on the human rights violations faced by Palestinian Canadians does not negate the human rights violations faced by Jewish people.”