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Museum panel changes
The British Museum in London has revised some explanatory panels and maps in its galleries devoted to the ancient Levant and Egypt, removing references to “Palestine” and replacing them with terms including Gaza and the West Bank for present-day listings. The changes also included replacing “Palestinian” with “Canaanite” in a panel about the Hyksos rulers of Egypt from the 18th to the 16th centuries BC, and removing mention of Palestine and the Philistines from a text about the Phoenicians. The museum said in a statement that it “We have not removed the term ‘Palestine’ from displays,” and that it continues to refer to it across “a series of galleries, both contemporary and historic.” The Guardian reported that the UK recognised the state of Palestine in September 2025, but that the museum removed the name “Palestine” from a panel listing present-day countries encompassed by the ancient Levant in the same year.
“We have not removed the term ‘Palestine’ from displays”
Ambassador protests
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, called for Foreign Office intervention after the British Museum removed references to Palestine from its exhibits. Zomlot demanded restoration and urged discussions with the museum about removing “Palestine” and “Palestinian” from explanatory panels in the ancient Levant and Egyptian rooms, describing the move as a historical “erasure.” In a letter seen by The Guardian and New Lines Magazine, Zomlot wrote: “In the absence of corrective action, or a clear commitment to address the issues identified, it would not have been appropriate to engage further.” The British Museum said the changes were made following concerns raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), and The Guardian reported that the changes became widely known only after the Telegraph reported on 14 February that they had been made following those concerns.
Pressure, petitions, and stakes
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said it had sent a letter to the museum’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, arguing that “several maps and descriptions retroactively apply the term ‘Palestine’ to periods in which no such entity existed.” The Guardian reported that the ambassador hoped the UK government would persuade the museum to align with the UK’s recognition of Palestine, and Zomlot said: “For me, this is not only a political issue. This is not only a legal issue.” The dispute has also been framed around public pressure and institutional independence, with a British government spokesperson telling The Guardian that “Museums and galleries in the UK operate independently of the government.” The Guardian added that the museum had yet to explain its reasoning, and that the changes to the exhibits predated the UKLFI letter, with Cullinan reportedly seeing the letter only after the Telegraph story was published.
“several maps and descriptions retroactively apply the term ‘Palestine’”
