Since its announcement, questions have been swirling about whether Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ upcoming exhibit, “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present,” will be grounded in historical fact, and the mysterious group whose expertise and support are backing it — the Palestinian Content Advisory Network. Unsurprisingly, an organization with a history of antisemitism and support for terrorism has come forward as one of the contributors.

On Nov. 19, the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM) posted on its Instagram account that it is “honoured to contribute through the Palestine Content Advisory Network, ensuring this exhibit reflects authentic Palestinian experiences.”

This sounds harmless enough, until you take a look at CPAM’s social media presence, which reveals the group’s political goals — namely, the destruction of Israel — its willingness to share disinformation and spread antisemitic tropes in pursuit of its goals, as well as its public support for terrorist groups.

One day after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, CPAM posted an image of Gazan youth sitting on a Jeep, raising their fists in the air, seemingly in celebration of the terrorist attack, to promote a rally in Winnipeg in support of Palestine.

On the one-year anniversary of October 7, CPAM wrote : “Life did NOT start on Oct 7. Oct 7th was the day Palestinians said enough is enough and fought for their dignity,” in justification of the massacre. On the same day, the group openly indulged in a common antisemitic trope, sharing a post proclaiming, “The whole world is controlled by Israel except Palestine.”

On Oct. 21, 2024, CPAM shared a post with an image of a hand holding what is identified as an “Israeli Victim Card,” reading, “As an Israeli citizen if I am accused of anything I am not criminally responsible. Any accusation against me will be fuelled by ANTI SEMITISM. If in doubt please refer to the Holocaust.”

In January, CPAM posted a Hamas propaganda video of female Israeli hostages smiling and expressing gratitude to their captors. CPAM’s caption stated: “Four Israeli hostages were released as part of a prisoner exchange. In stark contrast, Palestinian prisoners often return home with clear signs of physical and mental abuse, a testament to the harsh conditions they endure.”

In fact, before their release, the hostages were reportedly forced to take tranquilizers so they would appear happy. Their captors also cynically gave them “ gift bags ” containing what the New York Post described as “photos of the women during their time in captivity along with a commemorative photo of Gaza.”

CPAM also hasn’t taken any pains to hide its public support of two terrorist organizations — Hamas and the Houthis.

On March 19, CPAM posted a story on Instagram containing a picture glorifying a Hamas fighter holding an AK-47 with his finger pointed to the sky and rockets launching in the background, with the words, “To God we belong and to God we return.”

On March 31, CPAM reposted a video of Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree announcing that his group had targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and “engaged hostile warships including the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Truman” and other ships transiting the Red Sea.

If you’re having trouble keeping up, Israel and America bad; Yemen and Houthis good, according to CPAM.

On June 19, as Iranian missiles were raining down on Israel, CPAM celebrated and indulged in an ancient blood libel, posting , “As Israel faces humiliation on the battlefield against Iran, it turns its rage toward the most defenseless: the people of Gaza. In a display of cowardice and cruelty, it bombs homes, massacres families, and burns Palestinian children alive. This is not war — it is a genocidal campaign by a colonial occupier desperate to maintain its grip through terror,” and referring to Israel’s defensive war against Hamas as a “Holocaust” inflicted on Gaza.

Just before the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre, CPAM made an Instagram post describing the date as marking “2 years of genocide in Gaza.” Worse still, the image associated with the post depicts a woman holding an emaciated child, which appears to be starving.

By the time CPAM used the photo, it was already well-known that the New York Times had run a correction about the image, because it was found that the child, Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawa q , suffered from pre-existing health issues “affecting his brain and his muscle development.” It was, in other words, a staged propaganda photo.

CPAM’s most recent post proclaims, “The Nakba (Catastrophe) is not a political debate with ‘two sides.’ It is the foundational event of a continuous, 77-year campaign of displacement, military occupation, and colonization.” Viewers are encouraged to swipe through images “ to challenge the false narratives and understand the reality of the Palestinian struggle.” 

But there two sides. And they must be held up next to each other and checked against history, in order to challenge false narratives, which CPAM claims to be concerned about.

Pushing such a biased narrative and openly supporting groups that are listed as terrorist organizations by the Government of Canada should make CPAM unqualified to contribute to a Canadian taxpayer-funded human rights museum.

Asked two weeks ago about the Palestinian Content Advisory Network, Canadian Museum for Human Rights spokesperson Amanda Gaudes told the Post that, “It is standard museum protocol to work with advisory networks. This advisory network supported the museum in collecting the oral histories and artifacts of the Palestinian Canadians who will be featured in the exhibit.”

Asked again this week about CPAM’s involvement, Gaudes claimed that, “This exhibit is the work of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights — it is not a co-production with another association or organization. There is no agreement with any association for the development of this content.” The museum did not respond to a request for clarification by deadline.

The museum is clearly being tight-lipped about the sort of “experts” that are being relied upon to produce the Nakba exhibit, likely because it knows it would face a backlash if Canadians realized it is working with organizations that have shown support for terrorist groups that have little respect for human rights.

To be fair, CPAM’s social media posts aren’t all disinformation, antisemitic tropes and support of terror groups. Two weeks ago, it boasted about “Our recent victories 4 Palestine.”

In the post, CPAM applauds Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recognition of a Palestinian state, Manitoba raising the Palestinian flag and the upcoming Nakba exhibit that it will be contributing to, which it says will “give space to stories long ignored, ensuring that the truth of the Nakba is taught, remembered, and recognized.”

It ends with an ominous warning: “And we are just getting started.”

National Post
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