By: Martin Olsen
The Canadian Museum Of Human Rights’ exhibit on the so-called ‘Nakba’ opened this week to widespread condemnation. And now that I have also not seen it, I would like to add my own thoughts on why the display is such an atrocity.
The exhibit focuses on the suffering of the Palestinian people from 1948 until today, with text, artifacts and personal stories from Palestinians affected. But completely absent is any acknowledgment that I don’t want to hear about any of that.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind telling this story. I just want there to be enough details about Arab countries who are not Palestine invading Israel or expelling Jewish residents to create the impression the situation is a complicated miasma of suffering on all sides, rather than a clearly evil act done to Palestinians by Israelis, which has continued for 70 years and culminated in the genocide we have spent the last 2.5 years watching unfold in real time.
Is that too much to ask?
It is absurd that a federally funded Museum of Human Rights would focus on this one Human Rights Violation, instead of all the other ones it also covers. Why would they devote a massive 12 metres of space and 600 words of text, knowing the harm it would do to people like me who want to continue ignoring Palestinians so we can blindly support Israel. Especially now, when discrimination against genocide defenders is at an all-time high.
The Museum didn’t even seek consultation from Jewish Canadian voices on the Exhibit, which they should have even though that would be suggesting Jewish Canadians bear responsibility for Israel’s actions, which we all agree is textbook antisemitism. So I guess then they should have gotten Israel’s input? Even though that would suggest a responsibility to have the perpetrators of human rights’ violations sign off on displays about their human rights violations which seems…bad. Ok the point is they didn’t get input. Any input at all!
In conclusion this exhibit that I have not seen and can not specifically tell you what it says is very bad, and the Museum needs to do a better job if it wants people like me to continue not visiting it but generally approving of its existence until the next time it does something controversial.
Good day.
