Palestinian envoy complains to UK Foreign Office over British Museum’s alleged erasure

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom has urged the Foreign Office to act after the British Museum omitted references to Palestine from its displays.

Although the UK recognised the state of Palestine in September 2025, the museum removed the word “Palestine” from a panel that listed present‑day countries covering the ancient Levant that same year, substituting Gaza and the West Bank instead.

Ambassador Husam Zomlot demanded the term’s reinstatement and asked for talks with the museum about the removal of “Palestine” and “Palestinian” from explanatory panels in several exhibits located in the ancient Levant and Egyptian galleries.

Zomlot described the omission as a historical “erasure” occurring while Israel carries out a campaign of destruction against Palestinians that several human‑rights organisations and a UN‑appointed independent commission have characterised as genocide.

Israel has taken archaeological artefacts from the occupied Palestinian territories and, in September last year, bombed Gaza City’s principal storage facility for ancient objects, destroying three decades of archaeological work.

Zomlot was invited to meet museum director Nicholas Cullinan and some curators on 24 March, but reported receiving no assurance that the changes would be reversed. Instead, he was offered a tour, which he declined.

“Without corrective action or a clear pledge to address the concerns raised, it would not have been appropriate to continue engagement that could be seen as endorsing the current presentation,” Zomlot wrote to Cullinan on 9 April, in a letter viewed by CuriosityNews and New Lines Magazine. He added that he remains willing to discuss the matter and would accept a tour once the needed corrections are made.

The British Museum issued a statement saying: “We have not removed the term ‘Palestine’ from our displays and continue to use it across various galleries, both contemporary and historic, as well as on our website.”

This claim appears at odds with photographic evidence of the alterations and earlier remarks attributed to the institution. The name “Palestine” still appears on some exhibits, such as maps of the ancient Middle East in the Egypt room.

Following the March meeting, Zomlot appealed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to intervene. Though the British Museum is publicly funded, it is governed by an independent board of trustees chaired by former Conservative chancellor George Osborne. The ambassador hopes the UK government will persuade the museum to align with its own recognition of Palestine.

“I have written to the minister responsible at the Foreign Office and we are awaiting a reply,” Zomlot said. “For me this is not merely a political, legal or historical matter; it is an existential one. Erasing our past erases our present.” A government spokesperson offered no further comment.