UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has called on Manchester Museum to correct a display about ancient Egypt which refers to “modern Syria, Palestine and Greece” but omits Israel, despite discussing an area that includes much of present-day Israel.

UKLFI warned that the wording was historically misleading and risked erasing Israel and the Jewish people’s historical connection to the land.

The display, entitled “Egypt’s northern neighbours”, describes trade and military contacts between ancient Egypt and the Near East during the Middle Kingdom, approximately 4,000 years ago.

It states that pottery from “the area of modern Syria, Palestine and Greece” has been found in ancient Egyptian towns such as Kahun. It also refers to a military campaign by an Egyptian soldier named Sobek-khu from Egypt into “Syria-Palestine”.

UKLFI argues that the display is misleading whichever way the geographical terminology is interpreted.

If the museum is using modern geographical names, as its wording suggests, Israel should be included, since much of the southern Levant from which such pottery originated lies within the present-day State of Israel.

However, if the museum is using “Palestine” as a historical name for the region during the Middle Kingdom, this is anachronistic.

The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximately 2055 to 1650 BC, more than a thousand years before the earliest known use of the name Palestine.

UKLFI pointed out that the term appears in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC, and that the Romans renamed the province of Judea “Syria Palaestina” following the Bar Kokhba revolt in around 135 AD.

At the time of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, the region was known to Egyptians as Retjenu, while modern historians generally refer to it as Canaan or the southern Levant.

UKLFI told the museum: “In either case, the wording gives visitors a false impression of the region’s history and, in a context where territorial names are highly politicised, implicitly erases Israel and the Jewish people’s historical connection to the land.”

The letter also challenges the museum over its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Manchester Museum, which is part of the University of Manchester, describes its ambition as becoming “the most caring, imaginative and inclusive museum you’ll ever visit”.

Its Social Justice Manager has described social justice as ensuring that everyone’s human rights are accessed, respected and protected.

UKLFI argued that omitting Israel from a display while referring to modern Palestine was inconsistent with these commitments, particularly given Greater Manchester’s substantial Jewish community.

UKLFI has requested that the display be amended to include Israel if modern geographical names are retained.

Alternatively, it suggests using historically and geographically neutral terms, replacing “modern Syria, Palestine and Greece” with “the Levant and the Aegean”, and “Syria-Palestine” with “the Levant” or “Retjenu, in the Levant”.

UKLFI has also asked the museum to review similar descriptions elsewhere in its galleries.

A spokesperson for UKLFI said:

“Museums have a responsibility to present history accurately, not to rewrite geography in a way that makes Israel disappear. It is extraordinary that a museum should refer to modern Palestine while omitting Israel from a description of territory that includes the Jewish state’s present-day land.

“If Manchester Museum wishes to use modern geographical names, it should include Israel. If it wishes to describe the ancient world, it should use historically appropriate terminology.

“Jewish and Israeli visitors should not have to encounter displays that appear to erase their historical connection to the region. We hope the museum will recognise the problem and correct the display promptly.”