The British Museum has confirmed that it is reviewing and updating some gallery panels and labels after “Audience testing has shown that the historic use of the term Palestine … is in some circumstances no longer meaningful.”

Concerns were raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) about historically inaccurate references to “Palestine” in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt.

In a letter to the British Museum, UKLFI explained that several maps and descriptions retroactively apply the term “Palestine” to periods in which no such entity existed and risk obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people.

UKLFI argued that applying a single name across thousands of years “erases historical changes and creates a false impression of continuity.”

UKLFI requested that the Museum review its collections and revise terminology so regions are referred to by historically accurate names such as Canaan, the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, or Judea, depending on the period being described.

Responding to the concerns, the British Museum’s spokesperson confirmed that the Museum was in the processes of reviewing and updating panels and labels on a case-by-case basis. For example, the information panels in the Levant gallery, covering the period 2000-300 BC, have all been updated to describe in some detail the history of Canaan and the Canaanites and the rise of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel using those names. A revised text devoted to the Phoenicians was installed in early 2025.

Some changes have already been made elsewhere in the Museum. According to the spokesperson, a panel in the Egypt galleries was recently amended to replace “Palestinian descent” with “Canaanite descent.”

The Museum’s spokesperson explained that the larger graphic panels and maps require significantly more coordination and resource and cannot be updated and replaced at once given their importance for visitor navigation of the gallery. This work is being scheduled with designers and interpreters but, because of the scale and cost, will be implemented in phases over the coming years as part of the Museum’s long-term Masterplan redevelopment.

UKLFI had also raised objections to the display of dolls described as wearing “Palestinian traditional dress” in the Ancient Levant gallery, arguing that their placement could imply an uninterrupted cultural lineage.  The museum explained that the display is intended to explore cultural identity rather than suggest direct historical continuity but noted the Museum would “look again at the use of the term ‘rural Palestine.’”

The Museum emphasised that integrating ethnographic and contemporary works alongside ancient artefacts is a longstanding curatorial practice designed to foster new perspectives on cultural history.

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.”