We call on the Museum of Civilization to rescind its agreement to provide space to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for its Negev Gala.

The JNF is holding its annual Negev Gala Dinner at Canada’s Museum of Civilisation on – November 24, 2008. The Museum’s Guiding Principles inform the public that the museum’s choice of activities are “informed by respect: we will not engage in activities or present materials which may promote intolerance.” Yet, by providing space to the JNF we believe the Museum is in violation of this basic principle.

According to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz (23/09/07), approximately 500,000 out of almost 625,000 acres owned by the JNF were confiscated from Palestinians fleeing war in 1948, and were not purchased with contributions from Jews around the world, as is commonly represented in its propaganda. During 1948-53, the Israeli state transferred ownership of this land to the JNF for the sole use of Jews—as per the JNF’s governing articles—without any compensation to its rightful Palestinian owners. This confiscation violates international law and is an ongoing source of grievance inside Israel amongst its Palestinian citizens and Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories and neighbouring Arab states.

In Israel, this “redemption of land,” which in fact is the appropriation of Palestinian land and its “transfer” to Israeli Jews, is ongoing in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, occupied by Israeli forces since 1967. The so-called “Canada Park”, which is maintained through JNF contributions, is built on the site of three Palestinian villages captured in 1967, which were evacuated and razed to the ground. Forcible transfer of civilians and extensive destruction and appropriation of property in occupied territory are war crimes amounting to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention—international legal codes adopted after World War II in recognition that maltreatment and atrocities against civilians in wartime should never happen again. Indeed, in 2007, the United Nations’ Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) rejected the application of the Jewish National Fund (JNF)-USA for consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) because of its discriminatory practices and complicity in violations against international law.

The Canadian government has consistently called for restoration and promotion of rule of law at home and abroad. The Museum, as an institution of the government, has an obligation to uphold this principle. Moreover, in providing space to the JNF, the Museum is in violation of its own principle to promote Canada’s fundamental “commitment to democracy in its political and social sense.”

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