British Museum removes 'Palestine' from ancient Middle East displays

The British Museum has removed the word 'Palestine' from its displays of the ancient Middle East amid complaints from a pro-Israel group.

Information boards in the ancient Middle East galleries had referred to the area on the east coast of the Mediterranean as Palestine.

Individuals from the period between 1500BC to 1700BC had also been described as being 'of Palestinian descent'.

Concerns were then raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) which said the historic references to Palestine were 'inaccurate' and were instead parts of ancient Levant and Egypt.

In a letter to the museum, the group argued that retrospectively applying the term 'Palestine' to the area in a period before the name existed risked 'obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people'. 

UKLFI asked that the regions were referred to by historically accurate names such as Canaan, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, or Judea.

Texts from around 1500BC refer to the eastern Mediterranean as Canaan, while The Kingdom of Israel was first mentioned in an Egyptian inscription in around 1200BC. The name Palestine did not appear until around the fifth century BC. 

The group argued that applying a single name across thousands of years 'erases historical changes' and created a 'false impression of continuity.' 

The museum has since updated several displays, referring to the region as 'Canaan' instead of Palestine.

UKLFI also raised objections to the description of a doll wearing 'Palestinian traditional dress', which they said implied an 'uninterrupted cultural lineage'.

The group said that the museum responded to their concerns by saying the display was intended to explore cultural identity rather than suggest direct historical continuity.

A UKLFI spokesperson said: 'We welcome the British Museum's willingness to review and amend terminology which is inaccurate or liable to convey an incorrect meaning today. 

'The finding of its audience testing, that the term "Palestine" is in some circumstances no longer meaningful is relevant to and should be taken on board by other museums and cultural institutions. 

'Museums play a vital role in public education, and it is essential that descriptions reflect the historical record with precision and neutrality. 

'These changes are an important step toward ensuring visitors receive an accurate understanding of the ancient Near East.' 

However the museum denied that the changes were made in response to the letter.

A source said the term 'Canaan' is more relevant for the southern Levant in the later second millennium BC. 

They said the museum uses the UN terminology on maps that show modern boundaries such as Gaza, West Bank, Israel, Jordan and refer to 'Palestinian' as a cultural or ethnographic identifier.

It said the changes were made independently. 

A British Museum spokesperson said: 'It 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.'