British Museum to remove ‘Palestine’ on some exhibits due to historical inaccuracy

UK Lawyers for Israel said it raised concerns about references it characterized as historically inaccurate in sections covering the ancient Levant and Egypt.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The British Museum is altering the language used in some of its ancient Middle East displays after agreeing to review terminology following objections from a UK-based Israeli advocacy group, according to statements from the museum and UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

The museum said it is reassessing and updating selected gallery panels and labels after determining that certain historical terms may no longer be clear or appropriate for contemporary audiences.

UKLFI said in a statement Saturday that the review followed what it described as “audience testing,” which found that “the historic use of the term Palestine … is in some circumstances no longer meaningful.”

Anadolu reported that the changes include the removal of the word “Palestine” from displays dealing with the ancient Middle East.

UKLFI said it raised concerns about references it characterized as historically inaccurate in sections covering the ancient Levant and Egypt.

According to the group, using a single geographic label across long historical periods “erases historical changes and creates a false impression of continuity.”

UKLFI said it pressed the museum to amend wording that it believes does not accurately reflect the political and cultural realities of the eras being described.

In response, a British Museum spokesperson confirmed that revisions are being carried out selectively. The spokesperson said panels in the Levant gallery covering the period from 2000 to 300 B.C. have been rewritten to focus on “the history of Canaan and the Canaanites and the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel using those names,” according to UKLFI’s statement.

The spokesperson also said that “a revised text devoted to the Phoenicians was installed in early 2025.”

The museum indicated that updates are being handled individually rather than through a comprehensive overhaul of the galleries.

The Telegraph reported that one amended display involves a panel on the Hyksos period, where the description “Palestinian descent” has been changed to “Canaanite descent.”

The report said the modification was part of the broader review prompted by UKLFI’s intervention.

UKLFI welcomed the museum’s response, saying it supports efforts to revise language it described as “inaccurate or liable to convey an incorrect meaning today.”

In a separate statement issued last week, the group said it had been urging the museum to address what it called the “historically inaccurate use of ‘Palestine.’”

The British Museum has not announced whether additional changes are planned beyond those already identified, nor provided a timeline for completing the review process.