British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from exhibits after pro-Israel pressure

The London institution has changed several displays following complaints from the UK Lawyers for Israel lobby group

The British Museum in London has removed the word “Palestine” from several information panels and maps in its ancient Middle East galleries following pressure from the pro-Israel lobbying group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

In a statement on Saturday, UKLFI said the museum has confirmed it is reviewing and updating panels “on a case-by-case basis.” In the Egypt galleries, for example, some references to “Palestinian descent” have been replaced with “Canaanite descent.” Information panels in the Levant gallery covering 2000-300 BC have also been rewritten to focus on “the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.”

The changes come after UKLFI sent a complaint to museum director Nicholas Cullinan earlier this month, in which the group raised “serious concerns regarding the anachronistic use of the term “Palestine” in some displays.

UKLFI argued that applying the name “Palestine” across thousands of years “erases the emergence and existence of Jewish kingdoms and Jewish national identity in the region” and “creates a false impression of historical continuity.”

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The group also warned that the terminology could be considered a violation of the Equality Act, which prohibits harassment over race, religion and philosophical belief. UKLFI, which has a history of targeting pro-Palestinian activists through legal intimidation, and is currently under investigation for filing “vexatious and baseless” legal threats, claimed the displays risk creating “a hostile or offensive environment” for Jewish and Israeli visitors.

The museum’s decision has sparked backlash from some scholars. Scottish art historian William Dalrymple called the move “ridiculous, pathetic and appalling,” noting in a post on X that the first reference to Palestine appears in 1186 BC - long predating even the name “Britain.” 

UKLFI’s pressure campaign against the British Museum comes as the group has played a major role in the broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism in the UK, having previously influenced the government’s decision to label the Palestine Action group as a terrorist organization. 

The designation has led to nearly 3,000 arrests, many of them senior citizens holding signs opposing genocide and supporting Palestine Action. The ban was ruled unlawful by the High Court of England and Wales last week but remains in place pending government appeal.