Encyclopaedia Britannica has made a series of amendments to its Britannica Kids website following a formal complaint from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) concerning historically inaccurate and misleading descriptions relating to Israel, Palestine and Judaism.

In January 2026, UKLFI wrote to Encyclopaedia Britannica identifying multiple examples across Britannica Kids entries where the term “Palestine” was used anachronistically to describe the region across thousands of years, including in modern contexts in which the State of Israel exists. UKLFI also raised concerns about maps and descriptions that appeared to erase Israel’s existence and misrepresent Jewish historical and indigenous connections to the land.

Following this correspondence, Britannica has now amended several relevant children’s entries, including those on Palestine, Israel and Judaism.  It has also removed the Map linked to the Palestine entry, which showed Palestine covering the whole of Israel, erasing it entirely,

The changes include revisions to terminology, historical descriptions and presentation, in an attempt to address concerns raised by UKLFI about accuracy, context and potential political misinterpretation in materials aimed at young readers.

UKLFI Director Caroline Turner said:

“We welcome the fact that Encyclopaedia Britannica has reviewed and amended aspects of its children’s content following our letter. Unfortunately, several of the amendments introduce further inaccuracies.

Educational resources for children carry a particular responsibility to be historically accurate and carefully framed, especially on highly politicised subjects. Terminology matters, and these changes are an important step in addressing material that risked misleading young readers.”

UKLFI emphasised that its concerns were rooted in historical accuracy and educational responsibility, not political advocacy. In its letter, UKLFI highlighted that applying the name “Palestine” retrospectively to ancient periods obscures the well-documented history of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and risks suppressing Jewish national and indigenous identity.