Local News
Palestinian campus encampments dismantled across Canada—whether voluntarily or by authorities
By SAM MARGOLIS (Canadian Jewish News) Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
“Every dollar you make off the blood of Palestinians will be lost as we continue to confront you, on this lawn and across campus this coming year, and the year after that, and every year until the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” protesters from Occupy Tabaret said on a post on Instagram.
An encampment at University of Waterloo was dismantled on July 7, in exchange for the university dropping a $1.5-million lawsuit and injunction proceedings.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of British Columbia, which had maintained an inescapable presence at the Vancouver campus since the end of April, was voluntarily dismantled on the evening of July 7—and local Jewish groups are hoping this will provide a step towards easing fears among Jewish students and the community as a whole.
Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
“Every dollar you make off the blood of Palestinians will be lost as we continue to confront you, on this lawn and across campus this coming year, and the year after that, and every year until the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” protesters from Occupy Tabaret said on a post on Instagram.
An encampment at University of Waterloo was dismantled on July 7, in exchange for the university dropping a $1.5-million lawsuit and injunction proceedings.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of British Columbia, which had maintained an inescapable presence at the Vancouver campus since the end of April, was voluntarily dismantled on the evening of July 7—and local Jewish groups are hoping this will provide a step towards easing fears among Jewish students and the community as a whole.
The closure of the UBC Vancouver encampment took place a week after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the University of Toronto an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment from its campus. The court ordered tents to be removed and gave police authority to arrest anyone who did not vacate the protest site.
“In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property,” Justice Markus Koehnen wrote in the July 2 ruling.
“If the protesters can take that power for themselves by seizing Front Campus, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking the space over from the current protesters. That leads to chaos. Society needs an orderly way of addressing competing demands on space. The system we have agreed to is that the owner gets to decide how to use the space.”
Students at UofT voluntarily dismantled the encampment, which had numbered over 150 tents at some points, before the injunction deadline.
In Vancouver, Michael Sachs, the executive director of the Jewish National Fund Pacific, told The CJN, “There is a sense of relief that this is over, but also a sense of frustration with the amount of damage this has done, both to the Jewish community on campus and to the campus itself,”
Sachs went to UBC early Monday morning and took a photo of himself before the emptied encampment that he later posted on social media.
Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
“Every dollar you make off the blood of Palestinians will be lost as we continue to confront you, on this lawn and across campus this coming year, and the year after that, and every year until the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” protesters from Occupy Tabaret said on a post on Instagram.
An encampment at University of Waterloo was dismantled on July 7, in exchange for the university dropping a $1.5-million lawsuit and injunction proceedings.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of British Columbia, which had maintained an inescapable presence at the Vancouver campus since the end of April, was voluntarily dismantled on the evening of July 7—and local Jewish groups are hoping this will provide a step towards easing fears among Jewish students and the community as a whole.
The closure of the UBC Vancouver encampment took place a week after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the University of Toronto an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment from its campus. The court ordered tents to be removed and gave police authority to arrest anyone who did not vacate the protest site.
“In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property,” Justice Markus Koehnen wrote in the July 2 ruling.
“If the protesters can take that power for themselves by seizing Front Campus, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking the space over from the current protesters. That leads to chaos. Society needs an orderly way of addressing competing demands on space. The system we have agreed to is that the owner gets to decide how to use the space.”
Students at UofT voluntarily dismantled the encampment, which had numbered over 150 tents at some points, before the injunction deadline.
In Vancouver, Michael Sachs, the executive director of the Jewish National Fund Pacific, told The CJN, “There is a sense of relief that this is over, but also a sense of frustration with the amount of damage this has done, both to the Jewish community on campus and to the campus itself,”
Sachs went to UBC early Monday morning and took a photo of himself before the emptied encampment that he later posted on social media.
“Once the encampment was no longer in the news cycle, it was taken down. Some questions now are, who is going to pay for the damage done? And how much is it all going to cost after they destroyed the field?”
At various points during the 69-day encampment, dozens of tents and hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters took part in the event, which occupied MacInnes Field at the school’s Vancouver campus. Some local media outlets described the atmosphere as resembling a festival. In ordinary times, the field is a campus hub and green space used by the university’s community for numerous recreational activities. Today it remains fenced and barricaded.
Sachs had made regular trips to the perimeter of the protest since it began over 10 weeks ago. On its first day, according to his account, he witnessed Charlotte Kates, the coordinator of Samidoun, helping to organize and orchestrate the encampment.
Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
“Every dollar you make off the blood of Palestinians will be lost as we continue to confront you, on this lawn and across campus this coming year, and the year after that, and every year until the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” protesters from Occupy Tabaret said on a post on Instagram.
An encampment at University of Waterloo was dismantled on July 7, in exchange for the university dropping a $1.5-million lawsuit and injunction proceedings.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of British Columbia, which had maintained an inescapable presence at the Vancouver campus since the end of April, was voluntarily dismantled on the evening of July 7—and local Jewish groups are hoping this will provide a step towards easing fears among Jewish students and the community as a whole.
The closure of the UBC Vancouver encampment took place a week after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the University of Toronto an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment from its campus. The court ordered tents to be removed and gave police authority to arrest anyone who did not vacate the protest site.
“In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property,” Justice Markus Koehnen wrote in the July 2 ruling.
“If the protesters can take that power for themselves by seizing Front Campus, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking the space over from the current protesters. That leads to chaos. Society needs an orderly way of addressing competing demands on space. The system we have agreed to is that the owner gets to decide how to use the space.”
Students at UofT voluntarily dismantled the encampment, which had numbered over 150 tents at some points, before the injunction deadline.
In Vancouver, Michael Sachs, the executive director of the Jewish National Fund Pacific, told The CJN, “There is a sense of relief that this is over, but also a sense of frustration with the amount of damage this has done, both to the Jewish community on campus and to the campus itself,”
Sachs went to UBC early Monday morning and took a photo of himself before the emptied encampment that he later posted on social media.
“Once the encampment was no longer in the news cycle, it was taken down. Some questions now are, who is going to pay for the damage done? And how much is it all going to cost after they destroyed the field?”
At various points during the 69-day encampment, dozens of tents and hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters took part in the event, which occupied MacInnes Field at the school’s Vancouver campus. Some local media outlets described the atmosphere as resembling a festival. In ordinary times, the field is a campus hub and green space used by the university’s community for numerous recreational activities. Today it remains fenced and barricaded.
Sachs had made regular trips to the perimeter of the protest since it began over 10 weeks ago. On its first day, according to his account, he witnessed Charlotte Kates, the coordinator of Samidoun, helping to organize and orchestrate the encampment.
The Centre of Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has long called for Samidoun to be added to Canada’s list of terrorist organizations. CIJA and others maintain that the Vancouver-based organization has direct ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which, since 2003, has been listed as a terrorist group under Canada’s Criminal Code.
On May 1, Vancouver police started a hate crime investigation after comments Kates made at a rally praising the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and referring to a number of terrorist groups as heroes.
Sachs also noted that UBC is located in the riding of British Columbia Premier David Eby. He believes that Eby, as well as the university, could have done more to end the encampment sooner and help assuage the emotional distress it has caused for Jewish students, staff and faculty.
Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice-president of the Pacific Region, said he was encouraged to see the encampment abandoned and the return of MacInnes Field for all students to enjoy safely.
“Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks committed by Hamas, Jewish communities have come under increased pressure in many spaces across Canada and around the world, including in post-secondary education. The UBC encampment was concerning and made many Jewish students feel unsafe on their own campus,” he said.
Ohad Gavrieli, the incoming executive director of Hillel BC, sent a note to the Jewish community on campus this week stating that the encampment, had been, since it started on April 29, a “troubling center of antisemitism and anti-Israel activities.” He expressed concern that “such a demonstration of hate and intimidation was allowed to persist at the heart of UBC.”
“As we look ahead to the fall semester in September, we hope that the lessons learned from this troubling episode will lead to a campus environment where Jewish students can feel safe and respected,” Gavrieli wrote.
The university, at this time, offered no response regarding any possible legal actions that may be pursued against the organizers of the encampment. Further, it is unclear when the field will be returned to its earlier condition and how much it will cost to repair it.
Clare Hamilton-Eddy, the director of media relations at UBC, did tell The CJN that the school “remains committed to respectful dialogue with student protesters.”
A group calling itself the People’s University of Gaza UBC, which, among its other demands, has called on UBC to divest from Israel, vowed that it would continue to protest.
Several encampments which have occupied Canadian universities since April have been dismantled, a week after an Ontario Supreme Court granted the University of Toronto an injunction to remove a pro-Palestinian tent protest from its downtown campus.
At McGill, the Montreal campus was closed for the day from the early hours of June 10 while police and a private security firm removed protesters.
“McGill will always support the right to free expression and assembly, within the bounds of the laws and policies that keep us all safe. However, recent events go far beyond peaceful protest, and have inhibited the respectful exchange of views and ideas that is so essential to the University’s mission and to our sense of community,” McGill president Deep Saini said in a news release.
“People linked to the camp have harassed our community members, engaged in antisemitic intimidation, damaged and destroyed McGill property, forcefully occupied a building, clashed with police, and committed acts of assault,” he said.
In Ottawa, protesters voluntarily removed their tents from the campus July 10, claiming that negotiations with the university administration had stalled.
“Every dollar you make off the blood of Palestinians will be lost as we continue to confront you, on this lawn and across campus this coming year, and the year after that, and every year until the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” protesters from Occupy Tabaret said on a post on Instagram.
An encampment at University of Waterloo was dismantled on July 7, in exchange for the university dropping a $1.5-million lawsuit and injunction proceedings.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of British Columbia, which had maintained an inescapable presence at the Vancouver campus since the end of April, was voluntarily dismantled on the evening of July 7—and local Jewish groups are hoping this will provide a step towards easing fears among Jewish students and the community as a whole.
The closure of the UBC Vancouver encampment took place a week after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the University of Toronto an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment from its campus. The court ordered tents to be removed and gave police authority to arrest anyone who did not vacate the protest site.
“In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property,” Justice Markus Koehnen wrote in the July 2 ruling.
“If the protesters can take that power for themselves by seizing Front Campus, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking the space over from the current protesters. That leads to chaos. Society needs an orderly way of addressing competing demands on space. The system we have agreed to is that the owner gets to decide how to use the space.”
Students at UofT voluntarily dismantled the encampment, which had numbered over 150 tents at some points, before the injunction deadline.
In Vancouver, Michael Sachs, the executive director of the Jewish National Fund Pacific, told The CJN, “There is a sense of relief that this is over, but also a sense of frustration with the amount of damage this has done, both to the Jewish community on campus and to the campus itself,”
Sachs went to UBC early Monday morning and took a photo of himself before the emptied encampment that he later posted on social media.
“Once the encampment was no longer in the news cycle, it was taken down. Some questions now are, who is going to pay for the damage done? And how much is it all going to cost after they destroyed the field?”
At various points during the 69-day encampment, dozens of tents and hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters took part in the event, which occupied MacInnes Field at the school’s Vancouver campus. Some local media outlets described the atmosphere as resembling a festival. In ordinary times, the field is a campus hub and green space used by the university’s community for numerous recreational activities. Today it remains fenced and barricaded.
Sachs had made regular trips to the perimeter of the protest since it began over 10 weeks ago. On its first day, according to his account, he witnessed Charlotte Kates, the coordinator of Samidoun, helping to organize and orchestrate the encampment.
The Centre of Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has long called for Samidoun to be added to Canada’s list of terrorist organizations. CIJA and others maintain that the Vancouver-based organization has direct ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which, since 2003, has been listed as a terrorist group under Canada’s Criminal Code.
On May 1, Vancouver police started a hate crime investigation after comments Kates made at a rally praising the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and referring to a number of terrorist groups as heroes.
Sachs also noted that UBC is located in the riding of British Columbia Premier David Eby. He believes that Eby, as well as the university, could have done more to end the encampment sooner and help assuage the emotional distress it has caused for Jewish students, staff and faculty.
Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice-president of the Pacific Region, said he was encouraged to see the encampment abandoned and the return of MacInnes Field for all students to enjoy safely.
“Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks committed by Hamas, Jewish communities have come under increased pressure in many spaces across Canada and around the world, including in post-secondary education. The UBC encampment was concerning and made many Jewish students feel unsafe on their own campus,” he said.
Ohad Gavrieli, the incoming executive director of Hillel BC, sent a note to the Jewish community on campus this week stating that the encampment, had been, since it started on April 29, a “troubling center of antisemitism and anti-Israel activities.” He expressed concern that “such a demonstration of hate and intimidation was allowed to persist at the heart of UBC.”
“As we look ahead to the fall semester in September, we hope that the lessons learned from this troubling episode will lead to a campus environment where Jewish students can feel safe and respected,” Gavrieli wrote.
The university, at this time, offered no response regarding any possible legal actions that may be pursued against the organizers of the encampment. Further, it is unclear when the field will be returned to its earlier condition and how much it will cost to repair it.
Clare Hamilton-Eddy, the director of media relations at UBC, did tell The CJN that the school “remains committed to respectful dialogue with student protesters.”
A group calling itself the People’s University of Gaza UBC, which, among its other demands, has called on UBC to divest from Israel, vowed that it would continue to protest.
In a statement released on social media, the group said, “After years of divestment organizing on campus, we build the People’s University of Gaza as one tactic of escalation. We call on you to join us as we advance into the next stage of our strategy for our demands.”
Encampments have been prevalent on prominent university campuses in BC for the past several weeks. Protesters started a camp on the University of Victoria campus on May 1 and, according to university officials, the size of the encampment has not diminished.
“The university continues to take a calm and thoughtful approach and remains hopeful for a peaceful resolution.” said Kristi Simpson, vice-president of finance and operations at UVic.
Meanwhile, at the Vancouver Island University campus in Nanaimo, protesters continue to disrupt activities on the campus. On June 28, a group of 25 protesters occupied a building, interrupting an ongoing exam, blockading several entry doors, and causing damage to flags in the school’s International Centre. Over the June 29-30 weekend, protesters vandalized the entry to VIU’s human resources office.
“Such actions, which violate university policies, jeopardize the safety and security of our staff, infringe upon private and secure areas, and cannot be tolerated. We firmly condemn the disruption of academic exams, as our primary mission is to provide an optimal learning experience for our students,” officials from VIU said in a July 3 statement.
An encampment at UBC’s campus in Kelowna ended on June 29.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
Local News
Bark Mitzvah at the Simkin Centre August 13, 2026
By BERNIE BELLAN On a beautiful summer day at the Simkin Centre residents and family members – along with staff, were treated to a delightful “dog day afternoon” when scores of dogs were brought to the front courtyard outside the centre to celebrate what was titled a “Bark Mitzvah.”
Now, no dogs were called up to the podium to read from the Torah – or even to bark out a blessing, although as I canvassed many owners of dogs that were there – inquiring as to whether their dogs had received any special training for the day, I was pleased to hear that many dogs came from good “Jewish homes” and were good “Jewish” dogs. (I would suppose, in the case of our own dog that would mean that she’s been spoiled rotten.)
Some owners though maintained that their dogs had been brought up quite disciplined – although to be honest none of the dogs that I saw seemed to be be rigorously paying attention to any commands. Most were of the Goldedoodle, Yorkie variety. There was one rescue dog in the midst. It seemed quite confused, surrounded as it was by all those lap dogs.
The entire event was presided over – with great humour, but also a certain amount of seriousness, by Rabbi Matthew Leibl, who explained to the very large audience why having a special day celebrating dogs was entirely consistent with Jewish tradition.
Following is part of the transcription of an interview I conducted with Rabbi Lebil following his remarks explaining why he thought holding a “Bark Mitzvah” would be a good event to have. (You can watch the entire video at the end of this story. But where there was a great deal of laughter coming from people who were listening to my interview YouTube inserted the word “laughter” – which should give you an idea how fun an interview it was.)
As Rabbi Leibl explained to me, “I’ll tell you a serious story. When I was training – and I trained with Rabbi Annabal Mass… our teacher, Rabbi Steven Glade, encouraged everyone to consider a blessing of the animals ceremony because he said it’s a monster event. Just look around. It brought out so many people. It’s one of those events you can tie in loosely to a Jewish event – which it is. I mean we did it on Rosh Chodesh Elul- the new year of the animals and this whole idea it’s very similar to Tu B’Shvat- reimagining something old from Mishna to do it like this – but look at the attendance. I mean everyone wants to bring their dog and at a personal care home they say that music, babies, and dogs are the three biggest things that get through to everyone.”
I had to ask about kashrut, however (as I’ve been told repeatedly that kashrut is an essential element of the Simkin Centre – no matter how few residents may care about kashrut. Look – if I’m sent to cover something as frivolous as a “Bark Mitzvah” you can hardly expect me to refrain from going after my pet bugaboo at the Simkin Centre – and how ridiculous it is to require that the centre remain kosher when most of the residents could care less about kashrut), so I said to Rabbi Leibl: “No milk bones here, I hope. I expect that this is a strictly kosher event.”
His response: “I’m not sure. I wasn’t put in charge of that, so I can’t say. But no one’s going to be serving them any of the food that we eat. I can tell [laughter] you that.”
I said: “I’m not sure how to read that. [laughter].”
I asked whether there were Jewish dogs mixed in with non-Jewish dogs? (Dog assimilation is a serious issue.)
Rabbi Leibl replied: It’s inter denominational. [laughter] . I guess I don’t think we check to see if the dogs were uh circumcised. “
I asked: “Are we… [laughter] Are we mixing Jewish and non-Jewish dogs?”
Rabbi Leibl: “I don’t know that dogs have a faith. I’m not sure. I think they do. I think they’re of all faiths. ”
I asked: “Okay. And you know where bark mitzvahs originated?”
Rabbi Leibl: I’m sure it’s probably something silly.
Me: “It was gay guys in New York.”
Rabbi Leibl: ” Really?”
Me: ” Yes. Because they didn’t have kids. They started having bark mitzvahs.”
Rabbi Leibl: “That was probably more of an individual dog thing. This is a communal thing. It’s just a catchy title for publicity, Bernie. It’s the blessing of the animals. That’s the real thing.”
Me: “I was told that some of these dogs are on medication – as are many of the residents.”
Rabbi Leibl: “That’s low hanging fruit, Bellan. Low hanging fruit.”
Here’s the complete video of my interview:
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
