June 22, 2026
WINNIPEG – B’nai Brith Canada is reiterating its concerns about governance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) after learning that a longstanding member of its Board of Trustees, Mark Berlin, has resigned.
Mr. Berlin, a legal scholar and expert on human rights, was appointed to CMHR’s Board of Trustees in 2018. During 2006-2010, he served as the Director General for International Development at Canada’s Department of Justice, overseeing its efforts to help develop legal services in the nascent Palestinian Authority.
He resigned from his post at CMHR Monday, stating that he could not be associated with the Museum if it proceeded with its planned exhibit, “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present.”
His letter, addressed to the Hon. Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, raises serious concerns about CMHR’s governance and its ability to fulfil its obligations pursuant to the Museums Act.
“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,” Berlin wrote. “The CMHR often describes itself as a story-teller. But a story detached from the surrounding factual details is not the truth, it is just a story.
“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.”
A full copy of his letter is accessible here.
Mr. Berlin’s letter validates B’nai Brith Canada’s objections to CMHR’s plans for the Nakba exhibit. We have, on numerous occasions, expressed alarm at the lack of transparency during the curation process, as well as the apparent lack of professional and credible historians in the development of the exhibit. We have further urged CMHR to reconsider the framing of such an exhibit during this time of unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty, rising levels of antisemitism, and concerns about the use of anti-Zionist rhetoric to demonize Jewish people.
“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, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer.
“His letter must serve as a wake-up call not only to the CMHR’s remaining trustees but 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.
“It is the Government’s job to step in when a Trustee resigns and speaks out about a Federal Crown corporation’s internal governance, its work, and its impact on the Canadian public.
“The CMHR’s mishandling of this exhibit should concern every Canadian. It is not only about the potential harms to the Jewish community, but what it says about the state of our Federal institutions, our values, and Canada’s role in upholding international norms and human rights.”
On June 18, B’nai Brith Canada issued a set of clearly articulated expectations to the CMHR. In a statement, we called for the Government to review the composition of its Board of Trustees.
Following Mr. Berlin’s resignation, B’nai Brith is escalating the matter with both CMHR and the Federal Government.