British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from some displays

UK Lawyers for Israel wrote to the British Museum’s director saying some references to Palestine obscured the history of Israel. Photograph: Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty

The British Museum has removed the word “Palestine” from some of its displays, saying the term was used inaccurately and is no longer historically neutral.

Maps and information panels in the museum’s ancient Middle East galleries had referred to the eastern Mediterranean coast as Palestine, with some people described as being “of Palestinian descent”.