The British Museum has removed the term “Palestine” from informational panels, labels, and maps in its Middle East galleries following pressure from a pro-Israel group.
The changes were not previously publicly announced. They mark a shift from the museum’s previous position, in which it strongly defended the use of the term “Palestine,” stating that it is well established in Western and Middle Eastern scholarship as a geographical designation for a historical region.
The decision is expected to cause controversy and resentment, including among the British Museum’s staff. Around 250 employees signed a petition last June calling on the museum’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, and the Board of Trustees to sever ties with Israeli cultural institutions in protest at the genocidal war on Gaza.
The petition followed a secret event hosted by the museum last May to mark the anniversary of the creation of Israel, which coincides with the Nakba of 1948 in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their land by Zionist militias.
Protesters accused the museum’s management of promoting Israel while it was killing Palestinians in Gaza and marginalising the Palestinian narrative.
UK Lawyers for Israel wrote to Cullinan on 7 February warning about the continued use of the term “Palestine” in exhibitions relating to the ancient Middle East.
In its letter, the pro-Israel group raised what it described as “serious concerns” that using “Palestine” for ancient historical periods was “anachronistic.”
It claimed that referring to the region as Palestine in maps covering 1795 BC–332 BC was “historically inaccurate” because the region “was then known as Canaan and later included the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Philistia, and Phoenicia”.
The group also objected to describing biblical figures and ancient Israelites as originating from “Palestine,” saying this retroactively applied a later name. It claimed the Palestine term “distorts the historical record and obscures the history of Israel and the Jewish people.”
UKLFI further argued that the museum’s curatorial choices could potentially breach the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits harassment related to protected characteristics including race, religion, and philosophical belief.
The organisation has a history of harassing pro-Palestinian activists and institutions which highlight issues relating to Palestine and Palestinians.
It criticised the display of mid-20th-century dolls labelled as wearing “Palestinian traditional dress” in the Ancient Levant gallery, saying this could imply “inaccurate” cultural continuity.
According to a letter seen by The New Arab, the museum confirmed that it had begun reviewing and updating certain panels on a case-by-case basis. In an email, the Museum confirmed that a letter was sent to UKLFI by its head of strategic communications.
While acknowledging that Palestine remains “a well-established” geographical term, the museum stated that it is “in some circumstances no longer meaningful.” It said that “audience testing” had informed the decision.
In the Egypt galleries, some terminology has already been updated, with “Palestinian descent” for example being replaced with “Canaanite descent.”
The museum claimed the change was intended to describe in more detail the history of Canaan and the Canaanites, as well as the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel using historically specific names.
The museum pledged to continue making modifications, noting that in the Egyptian galleries, labels and in-case panels “can be revised relatively quickly.”
Larger graphic panels and maps will require phased updates as part of the museum’s long-term masterplan. Due to cost and logistical considerations, the work will be implemented over several years.
The museum also indicated it would review references to “rural Palestine” on a panel describing dolls identified as originating from the West Bank.
UKLFI was founded in 2011 as an association of pro-Israel lawyers seeking to counter the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
It also aims to foster a supportive climate of opinion toward Israel in the United Kingdom and internationally.
UKLFI is currently under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England following a complaint alleging that its lawyers filed baseless legal proceedings against pro-Palestinian activists in order to intimidate them.