British Museum did not remove Palestine from labels due to pressure campaign, museum sources say—as backlash continues

More than 200 cultural figures, including musician Brian Eno, writer Laleh Khalili, and former Central Saint Martins head Jeremy Till, signed an open letter published 10 March criticizing the British Museum for allegedly removing the word “Palestine” from gallery labels. The letter links the dispute to broader accusations about the museum’s relationships, including hosting a private Israeli Embassy event on 13 May 2025 and maintaining a partnership with BP, which the letter claims supplies fuel to the Israeli military. The Daily Telegraph reported last month that label changes in the Ancient Levant and Egyptian galleries followed concerns raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), but the British Museum said in a 3 March statement that it “continue[s] to use Palestine across a series of galleries.” The Art Newspaper reports that museum sources indicate label changes were made before UKLFI’s early-February letter, though some scholars questioned the wording of the revised labels in the Ancient Levant gallery, which covers artefacts from 7500 BC to 332 BC.

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