British Museum

Researchers in the United Kingdom have identified a 30-year-old shipwreck near Devon as the Dutch trading ship Dom van Keulen, which sank in 1633 while carrying Moroccan gold coins and trade goods. The discovery, involving collaboration between Bournemouth University, the British Museum, and divers, resolved a mystery linked to over 400 gold coins found in 1995.

Cross-party MPs have demanded an independent investigation into the British Museum's removal of terms like 'Palestine' and 'Palestinian' from displays, alleging political interference due to lobbying by pro-Israel activists. The call follows a Middle East Eye investigation revealing the museum's actions in response to such pressure, with MPs accusing the museum of anti-Palestinian racism.

Cross-party MPs demand an independent investigation into the British Museum’s removal of terms like 'Palestine' and 'Israelite occupation' from displays, citing a Middle East Eye investigation linking the changes to pro-Israel lobbying in late 2024. The museum defended the alterations as based on 'audience testing,' but no records of such testing exist, according to internal emails and freedom of information responses.

The British Museum removed terms like 'Palestine' and 'Palestinian' from its displays following lobbying in 2024, but later falsely claimed 'audience testing' justified the changes. A freedom of information request revealed no such testing occurred, and internal emails showed the alterations were made in response to complaints from pro-Israel groups and individuals between October and December 2024.

The British Museum removed terms like 'Palestine' and 'Israelite occupation' from its displays in 2024 following complaints by pro-Israel activists, despite later falsely claiming the changes were based on 'audience testing.' A Palestinian ambassador criticized the removal as erasure of Palestinian history, while the museum denied the allegations.

The British Museum canceled a talk on Ancient Israel due to security concerns. The cancellation followed reports that some individuals had signed up with the intention to disrupt the event.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK protested to the Foreign Office after the British Museum removed references to Palestine from its exhibits, replacing it with Gaza and the West Bank. The UK recognised the state of Palestine in September 2025. The removal was made from a panel listing countries of the ancient Levant and Egypt.

Dr. Ittai Gradel, an academic-turned-antiquities dealer who exposed the theft of hundreds of artifacts from the British Museum, died at 61 from renal cancer. He was awarded a medal by the museum for his 'very significant contribution' days before his death after alerting authorities to stolen items he found on eBay.