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419 420 </div> 421 </div> 422 </header> 423 424 425 <div role="main" class=" js-quickedit-main-content main-content page-node-article-type page-node-the-big-story"> 426 <div role="heading" class="top-bar top-bar-node-the-big-story"> 427 <div class="large-container"> 428 <a href="/big-story">The Big Story</a> | <span class="article-topic"> <div class="field field-field-topic"><a href="/topics/israel-genocide-gaza" hreflang="en">Israel's genocide in Gaza</a></div> 429 </span> 430 </div> 431 </div> 432 433 <div class="highlighted"> 434 <div class="large-container"> 435 <div class="region region-highlighted"> 436 <div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div> 437 438 </div> 439 440 </div> 441 </div> 442 443 444 445 <div class="page-content-wrapper"> 446 <div class="content-top"> 447 448 449 <div class="big-story-head"> 450 <div class="big-story-bg"> 451 <div class="field field-field-main-image"> <picture> 452 <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/crop_16_9/public/images-story/landing-uk-british-museum-protest-palestine-february-2026-vuk-valcic-zuma-press-wire-reuters.jpg.webp?itok=ISdPiJ9P 1x" type="image/webp" width="1400" height="933"/> 453 <img srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/crop_16_9/public/images-story/landing-uk-british-museum-protest-palestine-february-2026-vuk-valcic-zuma-press-wire-reuters.jpg.webp?itok=ISdPiJ9P 1x" width="1400" height="933" src="/sites/default/files/styles/crop_16_9/public/images-story/landing-uk-british-museum-protest-palestine-february-2026-vuk-valcic-zuma-press-wire-reuters.jpg.jpg?itok=ISdPiJ9P" alt="Demonstrator holds a sign at a British Museum protestFebruary 2026 " typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high" /> 454 455 </picture> 456 457</div> 458 459 </div> 460 <div class="big-story-title"> 461 <h1 class="page-title"> 462<span class="field field-title">Exclusive: British Museum made false claims about its removal of âPalestineâ from displays</span> 463</h1> 464 <div class="author-field author-info"> 465 <span class="author-inline"><span class="author-group"><a class="author-name" title="View user profile." href="/users/namir-shabibi">Namir Shabibi</a></span></span> 466 </div> 467 </div> 468 </div> 469 470 </div> 471 472 <section class="page-main-content"> 473 <a href="#main-content" aria-label="Main content" id="main-content" class="visually-hidden" tabindex="-1"></a> 474 <div class="big-story-info"> 475 <div class="submitted-date"> 476 <span class="date-created">Published date:</span> 1 July 2026 15:13 BST 477 <span class="date-separator">| </span> 478 <span class="date-updated">Last update:</span> <span id="date-updatedago" data-timeago="1782993048">2 months 3 weeks</span> ago </div> 479 480 <section class="mee-social-share-block mee-social-share-block--hide-counter block block-mee-social-share block-mee-social-share-block clearfix" id="block-meesocialshare"> 481 482 483 484 485 486<div class="mee-social-share-block"> 487 <div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"></div> 488 489</div> 490 </section> 491 492 493 </div> 494 <div class="region region-content"> 495 <article data-history-node-id="443399" about="/big-story/exclusive-how-british-museum-made-false-claims-about-its-removal-palestine-displays" class="the-big-story full article-type clearfix"> 496 <div class="field field-field-subhead">Internal emails reveal changes resulted directly from complaints by pro-Israel activists, with the museum and its director subsequently misleading prominent critics</div> 497 498 <div class="field field-body clearfix"><p>The British Museum removed the terms âPalestineâ, âPalestinianâ and âIsraelite occupationâ from its displays in direct response to months of lobbying in 2024, a Middle East Eye investigation has found.</p> 499 500<p>In February 2026, the museum defended its decision to alter some displays, saying that âaudience testingâ showed the term âPalestineâ to be âno longer meaningfulâ.</p> 501 502<p>However, a new <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260618-BM-FOIA-Response-13614">disclosure</a> by the museum to MEE, in response to a freedom of information request, confirms that no such testing was carried out, nor any visitor research related to the term âPalestineâ.</p> 503 504<p>The museumâs various conflicting responses appear to obscure the full extent of changes made.</p> 505 506<p>In fact, the changes to displays referring to periods over 2,000 years old came after private and public complaints by organisations and high-profile individuals supportive of <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel">Israel</a> between October and December 2024, museum emails show.</p><div class="fp-hide" style="display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; background-color: transparent; padding: 0; max-width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box; border: 4px dashed #522F71; border-radius: 20px; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 23px;"> 507 <div style="flex: 1; text-align: center;"> 508 <h2 style="font-family: Calluna, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: calc(14px + 1vw); color: #000; margin: 0; padding-top: 10px;">New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch</h2> 509 <h4 style="font-family: Calluna, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: calc(10px + 0.5vw); color: #000; margin: 0; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; text-align: center;">
510 <span style="white-space: normal;"> 511 Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on 512 </span>Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters</h4> 513 <form action="https://middleeasteye.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=b5bdd0873541363c88d50e5cb&id=e9fb079abb&f_id=00a3a3e1f0" method="POST" style="display: flex; margin-top: 1vw; justify-content: center;" data-once="form-updated" data-drupal-form-fields> 514 <input name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email" required style="border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 0; font-size: 16px; outline: none; flex: 1; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 51.5%; height: 50px;" type="email"> 515 <div hidden="true"><input type="hidden" name="tags" value="442256"></div> 516 <input style="padding: 10px; background-color: #512F70; color: #fff; cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; border: none; border-radius: 0; outline: none; width: 25%; text-align: center; height: 50px;" type="submit" value="Subscribe"> 517 </form> 518 </div> 519</div> 520 521<p>MEE analysed <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260427-BM-FOIA-Response-12375">two</a> <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260427-BM-FOIA-Response-13622">sets</a> of heavily redacted internal emails and cross-referenced them with online complaints to identify some of the activists and public figures who lobbied the museum.</p> 522 523<p>Complainants include a former Daily Mail showbiz editor, a prominent historian and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, a pro-Israel Jewish community organisation which recently partnered with the museum on events marking Jewish Culture Month.</p> 524 525<p>Those complaints were lodged, and changes agreed by the museum, over 14 months before a well-publicised intervention by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a pro-Israel campaigning organisation, earlier this year.</p> 526 527<div class="mee-readmore mee-readmore-article-story mee-readmore-type-image align-right"> 528 <a class="mee-readmore-img-link" href="/news/ambassador-protests-uk-over-erasure-palestine-british-museum-exhibits"><img class="mee-readmore-image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/STARMER_BRITISH_MUSEUM_AFP.jpg.webp?itok=Oewa7HEG" width="400" height="250" alt loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image"> 529 530</a> <div class="mee-readmore-description">Palestine ambassador protests to UK over 'erasure' from British Museum exhibits</div> 531 <a class="mee-readmore-link" href="/news/ambassador-protests-uk-over-erasure-palestine-british-museum-exhibits">Read More »</a> 532</div> 533 534<p>Husam Zomlot, the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine">Palestinian</a> ambassador in the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk">UK</a>, told MEE that the removal of references to Palestine in the museum's galleries was âabsolutely existential for usâ and said he had previously written to the museum and to the British government to demand their restoration.</p> 535 536<p>Zomlot said: âBy removing references to Palestinian history, the British Museum is betraying their commitment to history and allowing themselves to be used for political purposes.</p> 537 538<p>âWe will continue to work and communicate with all relevant bodies to make this message loud and clear, until the original labels are restored.â</p> 539 540<p>The British Museum told MEE it was âsimply not trueâ that it had removed the term âPalestineâ from displays. It did not provide answers to MEE's detailed list of questions relating to this investigation.</p> 541 542<p>The museum, which is publicly funded but run by a board of trustees, has faced multiple public relations crises since Nick Cullinan took over as director in 2024.</p> 543 544<p>In May last year, it faced criticism from its own staff after hosting an event with the Israeli embassy to mark Israel's independence day, which was attended by the country's then-ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, who has spoken in support of the destruction of <a href="https://marshadecordova.laboursites.org/2024/01/05/letter-to-the-foreign-secretary-on-the-israeli-ambassador/">Gaza</a>.</p> 545 546<p>The event prompted demonstrations by pro-Palestinian campaign groups with protesters unfurling a banner reading âColonial genocideâ in the street in front of the museum's main courtyard. </p> 547 548 <figure role="group" class="media-block"> 549 <div class="group-inner"> 550 <div alt="Pro-Palestine protest outside British Museum" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ae19cfb7-2f4d-48ee-b754-80a782898888" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/uk-british-museum-protest-palestine-may-2025-vuk-valcic-zuma-press-wire-reuters.jpg" width="1920" height="1080" alt="Pro-Palestine protest outside British Museum" t
550ypeof="foaf:Image"> 551 552</div> 553 554 <figcaption>Protesters gather outside the British Museum to demonstrate after the museum hosted an event for the Israeli embassy in May 2025 (Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Reuters)</figcaption> 555 </div> 556</figure> 557 558 559<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 560 561<p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 562 563<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 564 565<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 566 567<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 568 569<p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 570 571<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 572 573<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 574 575<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 576 577<p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span>During its event with the Board of Deputies in May, the museum was forced to postpone a lecture titled âAncient Israel and Judah in the British Museumâ, citing concerns the event would be disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters.</p> 578 579<p>The rescheduled lecture went ahead last month, with Cullinan telling the <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/we-will-not-be-intimidated-british-museum-director-rebuts-the-mob-as-israel-lecture-attracts-thousands-f1ag6zo5">Jewish Chronicle</a> newspaper that the museum would not âgive in to intimidationâ.</p> 580 581<p>But MEE can now reveal the context behind the British Museumâs rapid moves to appease pro-Israel lobbyists.</p> 582 583<p>Complainants argued that the inclusion of the term âIsraelite occupationâ in one displayâs text on the Phoenicians, in an era over 2,000 years ago, would cause hatred and âjustify attacks against Jewsâ.</p> 584 585<p>Prominent figures also sought to influence museum director Cullinan and board of trustees chair George Osborne, the former British chancellor and Conservative MP, directly.</p> 586 587<p>The speed at which the changes were agreed appears to undermine Cullinanâs subsequent defence that the museumâs curators had âthought long and hardâ about the changes.</p> 588 589<p>In one case, the museumâs decision to appease a private complaint by the Board of Deputies was made within less than five hours of it being circulated internally.</p> 590 591<p>Controversial for defending Israel during its assault on Gaza, while attacking Israelâs critics, the Board did not reply to a request for comment by MEE.</p> 592 593<p>In emails urging a swift reply to one complaint, a museum staffer urged others to be âuber-consciousâ of the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks. By contrast, no regard is shown for Palestinians facing what the UN calls a genocide, as well as cultural annihilation.</p> 594 595<p>âThis chilling evidence indicates that pro-Israel groups have been simultaneously working to eliminate all mention of [Palestineâs] past,â Peter Leary, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), commented.</p> 596 597<p>âDeplorably, this campaign to erase Palestinian history seems to have unfolded against the backdrop of Israelâs genocide in Gaza, including the deliberate destruction of historic sites, universities and cultural institutions alongside homes, schools, hospitals.â</p> 598 599<p>
599The internal correspondence appears to contradict the museum directorâs claim that the changes were made âduring a regular gallery refreshâ.</p> 600 601<p>Cullinan made the <a href="https://x.com/DalrympleWill/status/2023399058690158797?lang=en">statement</a> to reassure renowned historian William Dalrymple, who had said he was â<a href="https://x.com/DalrympleWill/status/2023112870008127653?s=20">appalled</a>â by the erasures.</p> 602 603<p>Emails also reveal internal staff dissent that the museumâs position was âcontradictoryâ, with âstandardâ answers already available to address complaints related to content about Israel and Palestine.</p> 604 605<p>But they were swiftly overruled, with the museum agreeing to make the changes requested by complainants.</p> 606 607<p>In his attempts to pacify growing anger at the museum, Cullinan also told Dalrymple he knew ânothingâ of UKLFIâs February 2026 intervention.</p> 608 609<p>Though heavily redacted, MEE's analysis of the internal emails appears to belie the claim. The museum acknowledged that the redactions were made by Cullinan himself.</p> 610 611<p>MEEâs investigation comes after the British Museumâs inconsistent explanations provoked <a href="https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/why-did-the-british-museum-remove-references-to-palestine/">suspicion</a> that it had âfallen under political influenceâ.</p> 612 613<p>The British Museum declined to substantively comment on MEEâs findings or provide answers to its detailed questions, instead reiterating a press statement made in <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/press/press-releases/statement-on-panels">February</a>.</p> 614 615<p>A spokesperson told MEE: âIt has been reported that the British Museum has removed the term Palestine from displays. It is simply not true. We continue to use Palestine across a series of galleries, both contemporary and historic.â</p> 616 617<p>In the face of the lack of response to MEEâs questions, Leary, the PSCâs spokesperson, called on the museum to take steps âto address its own shameful record - by returning items looted from around the world, including Palestine - not choosing to collaborate with efforts to expunge Palestinians and their historyâ.</p> 618 619<p>In what follows, MEE charts the complaints lodged between October and December 2024, their arguments, the museumâs scramble to appease them, subsequent false statements by the museum director, and the national institutionâs embrace of pro-Israel activists.</p> 620 621<h3>Audience âconfusionâ</h3> 622 623<p>Earlier this year, the museum found itself at the centre of a media storm after the Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/14/british-museum-removes-palestine-references-from-ancient-mi/">claimed</a> that UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) had successfully lobbied for the removal of the term âPalestineâ from exhibits.</p> 624 625<div class="mee-readmore mee-readmore-article-story mee-readmore-type-image align-right"> 626 <a class="mee-readmore-img-link" href="/news/british-museum-removal-term-palestine-displays-part-systematic-attempt-erase-it-history"><img class="mee-readmore-image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/British%20museum.jpg.webp?itok=7KcD7yR-" width="400" height="250" alt loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image"> 627 628</a> <div class="mee-readmore-description">'Erasing history': British Museum criticised for removing references to âPalestine' from exhibits</div> 629 <a class="mee-readmore-link" href="/news/british-museum-removal-term-palestine-displays-part-systematic-attempt-erase-it-history">Read More »</a> 630</div> 631 632<p>Dalrymple called the move â<a href="https://x.com/DalrympleWill/status/2023040713748045974">ridiculous</a>â, â<a href="https://x.com/DalrympleWill/status/2023112870008127653?s=20">pathetic and appalling</a>â, noting that the first mention of âPalestineâ dates to 1,186 BCE and enjoys âgreater antiquity than the word Britishâ. Two hundred cultural figures <a href="https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/11/brian-eno-tells-british-museum-to-stop-supporting-israels-genocide/">urged</a> the museum to âstop erasing Palestineâ.</p> 633 634<p>In its defence, the museum <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260427-BM-FOIA-Response-12373">told</a> UKLFI and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/06/palestinian-ambassador-protest-foreign-office-british-museum">repeated</a> in the press that âAudience testing has shown that the historic use of the term Palestine ⦠is in some circumstances no longer meaningfulâ.</p> 635 636<p>Audience testing is when museums gather data on how visitors interact with exhibits, and the British Museum <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/projects/visitor-research-and-evaluation">holds</a> an âextensive archiveâ of such reports.</p> 637 638<p>But the museum <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260618-BM-FOIA-Response-13614">admitted</a>
638 to having no such data after MEE asked for copies of all records relating to the audience testing of âPalestineâ.</p> 639 640<p>It instead claimed there had been general research finding that some visitors could experience âconfusionâ between ââPalestineâ as a historic regional designation â¦[and] the modern state of Palestine todayâ. It provided MEE with no copies of any such findings.</p> 641 642<p>Museum staff did, however, proactively concern themselves with the complaints of prominent Israel sympathisers on social media, worrying about finalising responses quickly, before the 7 October anniversary.</p> 643 644<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="837fc490-cf67-4bfb-a170-af612ea03969" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-2-mee_0.jpg" width="1662" height="506" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 645 646</div> 647 648 649<p style="margin-bottom:11px">The changes may have been approved at the highest level - the name âEoinâ mistakenly left unredacted may refer to Eoin Martin, the museumâs director of governance and board secretary. Asked if this was the case, the museum offered no comment.</p> 650 651<p style="margin-bottom:11px">The emails seen by MEE appear to show that museum staff first discussed whether to make changes to Palestine-related explanatory texts in its galleries in response to a visitor complaint about an exhibit referencing the Hyskos, a group of rulers of ancient Egypt that the museum had described as being of âPalestinian descentâ.</p> 652 653<p>Removal of âPalestinianâ was âappropriateâ, the complainant argued, due to âcurrent tensions in the Middle East and the rampant disinformation⦠in many mediaâ. The sender copied the email to the Board of Deputies and the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which has been accused of smearing critics of Israel and defenders of Palestinian rights as âantisemiticâ.</p> 654 655<p>The Board of Deputies recently <a href="https://x.com/BoardofDeputies/status/2066105937023184903">defended</a> the controversial Great Israeli Real Estate <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-illegal-settlements-promoted-london-great-israeli-real-estate-event">event</a> in London, which advertised illegal colonies on stolen Palestinian land, <a href="https://x.com/BoardofDeputies/status/2066105937023184903">accusing </a>protesters of wanting to target Jews.</p> 656 657<p>Despite one staffer reminding colleagues that the complaint could be addressed with the museumâs âstandard answerâ, a day later the museum assured the individual complainant that âa revised panel will be produced and installed as soon as possibleâ.</p> 658 659<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="245f97c0-f78f-4688-86a5-5a6a80cc585a" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-4-mee.jpg" width="1682" height="907" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 660 661</div> 662 663 664<p style="margin-bottom:11px">A staffer suggested changing the panel to ârulers originating in Palestineâ. Within 20 minutes they were overruled: in a reply set to âhigh importanceâ, a decision was made to change the text to ârulers of Canaanite originâ.</p> 665 666<p style="margin-bottom:11px">A month later, on 28 November, a museum staffer circulated a <a href="https://x.com/nicolelampert/status/1862030839753924693">tweet</a> from former Daily Mail showbiz editor Nicole Lampert, complaining about an old permanent gallery panel on the Phoenicians.</p> 667 668<p>In her post, Lampert claims that the statement âIsraelites occupied most of Palestineâ was âfactually wrong - dangerously soâ.</p> 669 670<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="85e9d919-e68a-4617-b530-4754dfc20443" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-5-mee.jpg" width="1300" height="1632" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 671 672</div> 673 674 675<p style="margin-bottom:11px">Multiple museum teams circulated Lampertâs tweet internally. Yet there is no evidence of any due diligence on Lampert, or her possible political motivations behind her complaint.</p> 676 677<p>Lampert, a fierce defender of Israel, recently <a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15686363/Zack-Polanski-rebellion-family-UK-Green-Party-Prime-Minister.html">claimed</a> family members of Jewish Green Party leader Zack Polanski told her they feared having to flee the UK in the event of a Green Party win, calling it âthe future Islam
677ic party of Britainâ.</p> 678 679<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3c9ca8c0-77c4-490e-bf9c-3dfaa4f84fa1" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-7-mee.jpg" width="1720" height="857" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 680 681</div> 682 683 684<p style="margin-bottom:11px">The next day, the museum received a separate private complaint which argued that âif the British Museum labels Jews as occupiers this will justify attacks against Jews.â</p> 685 686<p style="margin-bottom:11px">Within days, museum staffers had decided that the Phoenicians panel should be changed from rulers of âPalestinian descentâ to âCanaanite descentâ, to âprevent such misunderstandingsâ, with edits to Room 57 text on the Ancient Levant confirmed in internal emails, along with an intention to âlook at the maps in Room 4â.</p> 687 688<p>None of the emails exchanged reference the formal processes of visitor research and audience testing to justify changes to the texts.</p> 689 690<p>Instead, the museum appears troubled by âconcerns that weâre seeing on social mediaâ that the texts were developed âin reaction to the conflict in the regionâ - though some of the disputed texts were installed between 1998 and 2008.</p> 691 692<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a3bb17fc-5b82-4a99-aba5-5253db5201a7" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-8-mee.jpg" width="1710" height="695" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 693 694</div> 695 696 697<p>Days later, museum staff reference retweets of Lampertâs post, including by âhigh profile historiansâ. This is likely a reference to historian and TV presenter Simon Sebag Montefiore, who <a href="https://x.com/simonmontefiore/status/1862134808316395918">echoed</a> her complaint.</p> 698 699<p>He described the term âIsraelite occupationâ as âprogressive presentist inversion and distortion of historyâ. Montefiore has previously <a href="https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/simon-sebag-montefiore-warns-we-are-witnessing-the-end-of-the-taboo-on-antisemitism/">accused</a> Palestinian rights campaigners of âexploiting medieval tropes of antisemitismâ.</p> 700 701<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="482a308c-165a-492b-a268-0c13eb3548c1" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-11-mee.jpg" width="1737" height="1200" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 702 703</div> 704 705 706<p style="margin-bottom:11px">Montefiore <a href="https://x.com/simonmontefiore/status/1862181814988603546?s=20">reminded</a> his followers that he knew the museum director, Cullinan, and its chair, Osborne, âwellâ. He then assured his followers that âtheyâll be the first to oversee its correctionâ.</p> 707 708<p style="margin-bottom:11px">A week following Lampert and Montefioreâs interventions, the museum faced a new complaint, this time raised in a letter from the Board of Deputies, although the normally vocal lobby group did not publicise its intervention.</p> 709 710<p>While the museum has not disclosed the Boardâs letter, subsequent museum emails reveal that it related to an exhibit panel which read âIsraelites occupied most of Palestineâ, with the complaint that âoccupiedâ had become âpolitically charged in the context of contemporary politicsâ.</p> 711 712<p>Within five hours of the letter being circulated, a staffer proposed notifying the lobby group that the words âIsraelitesâ and âoccupiedâ would be removed âto ensure that the meaning intended is clear for our audiencesâ.</p> 713 714<p>The museumâs reasoning behind the change was simply that the terms were âunnecessaryâ. Subsequent internal
714correspondence shows the changes were implemented in January 2025.</p> 715 716 <figure role="group" class="media-block"> 717 <div class="group-inner"> 718 <div alt="British Museum caption text (New Lines Magazine)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="59897d1f-335e-4f11-99c3-00859ea556b2" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/photo-newlines.jpg" width="1024" height="576" alt="British Museum caption text (New Lines Magazine)" typeof="foaf:Image"> 719 720</div> 721 722 <figcaption>Left: The more recent Phoenician panel, with no reference to Palestine. Right: The previous version of the panel with reference to Palestine and the Philistines. (Images provided to and <a href="https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/why-did-the-british-museum-remove-references-to-palestine/">published</a> by New Lines magazine)</figcaption> 723 </div> 724</figure> 725 726 727<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 728 729<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 730 731<p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 732 733<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 734 735<p><span style="background:rgba(220,220,220,0.5);background-image:url(https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png);display:none;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> 736 737<p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: -15px; left: 0px;"><img alt height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span>At some point in 2025, a change is also made to the entrance to the Ancient Levant room, removing âmodern Palestineâ from a longer list of countries, and replacing it with Gaza and the West Bank.</p> 738 739<p>Discussions around this change are referenced but not discussed extensively in the disclosures analysed by MEE. However, the changes were captured in photos shared with New Lines <a href="https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/why-did-the-british-museum-remove-references-to-palestine/">magazine</a>.</p> 740 741<h3>Gaslighting critics</h3> 742 743<p>MEE's investigation appears to raise questions about the British Museum's public response in the wake of UKLFI's intervention in February, and its claim that it has not removed âPalestineâ from exhibit texts.</p> 744 745<p style="margin-bottom:11px">At the time, Cullinan claimed to Dalrymple that the changes were made âduring a regular gallery refreshâ, and that the museumâs curators had âthought long and hardâ about them.</p> 746 747<p>Both assertions appear to have been disproven by the museumâs own emails, and the museum director appears to have made other implausible statements.</p> 748 749<p>He told Dalrymple he âknew nothing aboutâ the UKLFI-related storm, and that he âhadnât even seen that [UKLFI] letterâ until four days after the museum issued its response - âdespite asking for itâ.</p> 750 751<p>Cullinanâs claim appears to be contradicted both by the museumâs internal
751correspondence, and by UKLFI <a href="https://www.uklfi.com/british-museum-under-pressure-to-change-historically-inaccurate-use-of-palestine">itself</a>. UKLFIâs letter is addressed to Cullinan by name, and <a href="https://unredacted.uk/documents/20260427-BM-FOIA-Response-12373">sent directly to</a> his office email. Internal correspondence also confirms that staff âflagged [it] with the Directorâs Officeâ.</p> 752 753<div alt="British Museum FOI emails" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fdf8f3c3-5a83-4f16-9864-40493ac6dcde" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/british-museum-17-mee.jpg" width="1190" height="1185" alt="British Museum FOI emails" typeof="foaf:Image"> 754 755</div> 756 757 758<p>The museum has already proven impervious to staff <a href="https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/furious-british-museum-staff-demand-leadership-end-ties-with-israeli-cultural-institutions">fury</a> and broader culture worker <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/over-200-culture-workers-demand-british-museum-apologise-israeli-embassy-event?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Social_Traffic&utm_content=ap_bv1cswz0nj">protests</a> over events linked to Israel, such as the embassy's independence day celebration last year.</p> 759 760<p>As well as Hotovely, this was attended by prominent politicians including Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, the respective leaders of the Reform and Conservative parties.</p> 761 762<div class="mee-readmore mee-readmore-article-story mee-readmore-type-image align-right"> 763 <a class="mee-readmore-img-link" href="/news/disgusted-and-betrayed-british-museum-ignores-mounting-staff-anger-over-israel-event"><img class="mee-readmore-image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/Tzipi%20Hotovely%20x%20.jpg.webp?itok=q2QBE3og" width="400" height="250" alt loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image"> 764 765</a> <div class="mee-readmore-description">'Disgusted and betrayed': British Museum ignores mounting staff anger over Israel event</div> 766 <a class="mee-readmore-link" href="/news/disgusted-and-betrayed-british-museum-ignores-mounting-staff-anger-over-israel-event">Read More »</a> 767</div> 768 769<p>Staff <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/disgusted-and-betrayed-british-museum-ignores-mounting-staff-anger-over-israel-event" target="_blank">told MEE</a> that they received âabsolute non-responsesâ from management to multiple letters.</p> 770 771<p>Last year, the museum held a fundraising âPink Ballâ, featuring BP and companies accused by activists of <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/campaigners-celebrities-british-museum-event-climate-palestine">links to</a> Israelâs genocide in Gaza, including JCB and Reliance Defence. But following a successful campaign, multiple celebrities, including Idris Elba and Zadie Smith, pulled out.</p> 772 773<p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/press-release/sunday-times-dr-nicholas-cullinan-obe">Writing</a> for the Sunday Times ahead of the museum's <a href="https://bod.org.uk/bod-news/british-museum-event-on-ancient-israel-and-judah-draws-largest-audience-of-jewish-culture-month/">hosting</a> last month of the rescheduled lecture with the Board of Deputies to mark Jewish Culture Month, Cullinan lamented protests outside the museum which had prompted its earlier postponement at an âunderstandably difficult moment for the Jewish community in the UKâ.</p> 774 775<p>MEE could find no such expression of sympathy by Cullinan for the Palestinian people in the face of mass destruction of their heritage and people.</p> 776 777<p>Cullinan continued: âWe live in uneasy times, when historical subjects are often drawn into contemporary conflicts. Yet the answer cannot be to abandon difficult conversations.â</p> 778 779<p>Unless, MEE's investigation appears to suggest, that conversation concerns Palestine.</p> 780 781<p>Zomlot, Palestine's ambassador, told MEE he had spoken to Cullinan on the phone on 16 February, shortly after the story of the removal of references to Palestine had first emerged. The museum's director, Zomlot said, had been âabsolutely insistent that nothing has changedâ.</p> 782 783<p>But Zomlot was unconvinced. âFrom day one the British Museumâs story did not add up. I refuse to give them the benefit of the doubt having conducted our own investigation and discovered the removal of references to ancient and modern-day Palestine, despite formal recognition by the UK government.,â he said.</p> 784 785<p>âErasing history is the first step to erasing the future. This is absolutely existential for us in light of the ongoing genocide.â</p> 786 787<p><em><strong>Editor's note:</strong> This story originally referred to "changes to displays dating as far as 7,500 BC". This referred to the Ancient Levant display covering the peri
787od 7,500-332 BCE. The text has been amended for clarity.</em></p> 788</div> 789 790 791 792 <blockquote class="disclaimer">Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this <u><a href="https://middleeasteye.net/form/mee-syndication"><span style="color:#3498db">form</span></a></u>. More about MEE can be found <u><a href="https://middleeasteye.net/about-middle-east-eye"><span style="color:#3498db">here</span></a></u>.</blockquote> 793 794</article> 795 796 797 </div> 798 799 800 </section> 801 802 </div> 803 804 <div class="content-bottom"> 805 <div class="paragraph--type--landing-page-segment segment--no-type"> 806 <div class="segment-content"> 807 <h3 class="segment-title">Read more</h3> 808 <div class="landing-layout-wrapper"> 809 <div class="first-layout"><div class="mee-subtheme-segment-layout mee-subtheme-segment-layout--articles-below-3 segment-layout-std"> 810 <div class="mee-article-tile mee-article-tile-type--opinion mee-article-tile-image"> 811 <div class="mee-tile-image"> 812 <a aria-label="British Museum row reveals the limits of decolonisation movements" href="/opinion/british-museum-row-reveals-limits-decolonisation-movements"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/landing_tile/public/images-story/uk-british-museum-egypt-statue-july-2022-amir-makar-afp.jpg.webp?itok=4I_getWn" width="448" height="280" alt="" loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image" /> 813 814</a> 815 </div> 816 <div class="mee-tile-main"> 817 <div class="mee-tile-topic"><a href="/topics/culture">Culture</a></div> 818 <a aria-label="British Museum row reveals the limits of decolonisation movements" class="mee-tile-title" href="/opinion/british-museum-row-reveals-limits-decolonisation-movements"><span class="mee-tile-quote"></span> British Museum row reveals the limits of decolonisation movements</a> 819 <div class="mee-tile-author">Marchella Ward</div> 820 </div> 821</div> 822<div class="mee-article-tile mee-article-tile-type--story mee-article-tile-image"> 823 <div class="mee-tile-image"> 824 <a aria-label="Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Jimmy Carr attend secret Israeli party at British Museum" href="/news/kemi-badenoch-nigel-farage-and-jimmy-carr-attended-secret-israeli-embassy-party-british-museum"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/landing_tile/public/images-story/Gq7jTH8WUAAYjQg.jpg.webp?itok=5qBeLFoy" width="448" height="280" alt="" loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image" /> 825 826</a> 827 </div> 828 <div class="mee-tile-main"> 829 <div class="mee-tile-topic"><a href="/topics/uk-politics">UK Politics</a></div> 830 <a aria-label="Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Jimmy Carr attend secret Israeli party at British Museum" class="mee-tile-title" href="/news/kemi-badenoch-nigel-farage-and-jimmy-carr-attended-secret-israeli-embassy-party-british-museum">Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and Jimmy Carr attend secret Israeli party at British Museum</a> 831 </div> 832</div> 833<div class="mee-article-tile mee-article-tile-type--story mee-article-tile-image"> 834 <div class="mee-tile-image"> 835 <a aria-label="Celebrities quit British Museum event after climate and pro-Palestine pressure, say campaigners" href="/news/campaigners-celebrities-british-museum-event-climate-palestine"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/landing_tile/public/images-story/Idris%20elba.jpg.webp?itok=5eIN1_Bf" width="448" height="280" alt="" loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image" /> 836 837</a> 838 </div> 839 <div class="mee-tile-main"> 840 <div class="mee-tile-topic"><a href="/topics/israel-genocide-gaza">Israel's genocide in Gaza</a></div> 841 <a aria-label="Celebrities quit British Museum event after climate and pro-Palestine pressure, say campaigners" class="mee-tile-title" href="/news/campaigners-celebrities-british-museum-event-climate-palestine">Celebrities quit British Museum event after climate and pro-Palestine pressure, say campaigners</a> 842 </div> 843</div> 844 845</div></div> 846 </div> 847 </div> 848</div> 849 850 851</div> 852 </div> 853 854 <footer class="footer " role="contentinfo"> 855 856 <div id="footer-top-wrapper"> 857 <div class="region region-footer"> 858 <a class="logo navbar-btn" href="/" title="Home" rel="home"> 859 <img width="1200" height="858" class="en footer" src="/themes/mee_subtheme/images/logo-en.svg" alt="Home" /> 860 </a> 861 <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-top-menu-en-footer-menu" id="block-top-menu-en-footer"> 862 863 <h3 class="visually-hidden block-title" id="block-top-menu-en-footer-menu">Top Menu En</h3> 864 865 866 867 <ul class="menu menu--top-menu-en nav"> 868 <li class="navitem-live"> 869 <a href="/live" class="navitem-live" data-drupal-link-system-path="live">Live</a> 870 </li>
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