Britain28 May, 20262 min read
British Museum Postpones Ancient Israel and Judah Lecture Over Protest Disruption Fears
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British Museum postponed Jewish Culture Month lecture on Ancient Israel and Judah amid disruption fears. Dr Paul Collins, Keeper of the Middle East, was to present.
British Museum postpones lecture
The British Museum in London postponed a Jewish Culture Month lecture on ancient Israel and Judah after it said it was told a "significant proportion" of registered attendees were "individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event." The talk, originally scheduled for Thursday at the museum’s BP Lecture Theatre, was to be given by Dr Paul Collins, the keeper of the museum’s Middle East department, and the museum said it would now take place "early next month."
The museum said the decision was made to "protect the event - not to diminish it" and that it would continue to support Jewish Culture Month, which the BBC said began on 16 May. The BBC reported that the museum later updated its statement to say the rescheduled lecture, The Ancient History of Israel and Judah, would be held early next month and that booking details would be published on the museum’s website shortly.
Critics demand government action
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the postponement and urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to intervene so the event could go ahead as planned.
Badenoch said: "Jewish Culture Month is meant to promote awareness of and celebrate Jewish culture in the UK. This decision achieves precisely the opposite."
BBC presenter and historian Simon Schama described the decision as "absolutely the wrong decision" and said it sent a "terrible message," while the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was "highly regrettable" that individuals sought to disrupt the event.
The British Museum’s statement, as quoted by the BBC, said it had a responsibility to ensure events could proceed "safely, securely and without intimidation for speakers, staff and visitors alike" even as it recognized the importance of lawful protest and freedom of expression.
What happens next
The British Museum said it would reschedule the lecture to a later date when it could take place in an environment that "properly safeguards both the audience experience and the integrity of the programme itself." The museum also said it would "offer a livestream to make the event accessible to a wider audience" and that it remained committed to providing a space where history, culture and scholarship could be explored "openly, respectfully and without disruption."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the postponement showed: "once again, the antisemitic mob has scored a victory," and it added: "In modern Britain, you can't have a Jewish Culture Month." The BBC reported that the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it would not allow "the actions of extremists to prevent the British public from enjoying these events" as the museum prepared for the lecture to be held early next month.