British media outlets have reported that the British Museum has decided to remove the name “Palestine” from some of its historical maps and explanatory panels relating to the Middle East, following pressure and complaints submitted by parties supportive of the occupation.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the decision came in response to correspondence from the group UK Lawyers for Israel, which objected to the use of the term “Palestine” to describe historical areas along the eastern Mediterranean coast within the museum’s exhibits.
Some maps and explanatory materials connected to Ancient Egypt and the Phoenicians had displayed the region under the designation “Palestine”, and certain peoples were described as being “of Palestinian origin”.
In a letter addressed to the museum’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, the group argued that applying the name retroactively across the entire region for thousands of years would erase historical transformations and create what it described as an inaccurate impression of continuity.
According to the newspaper, the British Museum administration concluded that the term “Palestine” did not carry an appropriate meaning as a historical geographic term in this context and decided to remove it from some explanatory materials.
A spokesperson for the British Museum stated that the institution uses the term “Palestinian” where appropriate when referring to cultural or ethnographic identity.
The amendments also included a revision to the description of the Hyksos, whose origins date back to the Nile Delta between 1700 and 1500 BCE. The phrase “of Palestinian origin” was replaced with “of Canaanite origin”.
The Telegraph reported that the removal was also undertaken in response to visitor feedback and surveys, in addition to the concerns raised by the UK based advocacy group.
