“The British Museum (must) avoid complicity in genocide, either through its representation of Palestinians and their history or by providing direct support to those that perpetrate or profit from that genocide.”
An open letter circulated this week urges the trustees of the British Museum to show support for Palestinians and to address allegations that the institution is contributing to the erasure of Palestinian history.
The letter has been signed by a number of prominent cultural figures, including actors Siobhan McSweeney, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson. Several organisations also endorsed the appeal, coordinated by the campaign group Culture Unstained, including Jewish Artists for Palestine, Archaeologists Against Apartheid and Artists & Culture Workers London.
The campaign follows reports last month that the British Museum had removed references to the word “Palestine” from some of its exhibit labels after receiving a letter from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).
The museum rejected those claims, stating that the term “Palestine” continues to appear across a number of its galleries. However, UKLFI has said that the museum subsequently altered panels in its Egypt galleries, replacing the phrase “Palestinian descent” with “Canaanite descent”.
The open letter argues that such changes contribute to a broader attempt to erase Palestine “as a term, a place, a people and a historical reality.” It also criticises the museum’s wider institutional relationships, citing its decision to host a private event for the Israeli Embassy last year, and its continued partnership with the oil company BP.
According to the letter’s authors, these actions amount to complicity in the ongoing violence against Palestinians in Gaza. It calls on the museum to condemn the actions of UKLFI and to publicly recognise the findings of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded that Israel has committed war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
“The British Museum (must) avoid complicity in genocide,” it read, “either through its representation of Palestinians and their history or by providing direct support to those that perpetrate or profit from that genocide.”
The letter also criticises the museum’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, writing that although he is reportedly “disgusted” by media reports about the labelling controversy, many are more disturbed by the museum’s decision to host a private event for the Israeli Embassy last year.
It points to the museum’s ongoing partnership with BP, which in 2023 renewed a ten-year, £50 million sponsorship deal to support the museum’s redevelopment. Campaigners say the museum has ignored repeated calls to remove BP’s name from its lecture theatre.
Cullinan, a British art historian who became director of the British Museum in 2024, has previously stated that he would not introduce what he described as “politically correct” labels in response to a particular political agenda.
At the time of his appointment, he said he was reconsidering how the museum’s collections are displayed, saying that any changes would be aimed at ensuring that the scholarship behind them is up to date rather than politically driven.
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