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British Museum Postpones Jewish History Lecture
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The museum said up to half of the ticket holders planned to disrupt the talk
A lecture on ancient Israel that the British Museum pulled at short notice over planned disruption has been held to the biggest audience of Jewish Culture Month. Around 4,000 people registered to watch in person and online on 11 June 2026, and the event passed without a single interruption.
The talk, 'Ancient Israel and Judah in the British Museum', was due to be given by Dr Paul Collins, keeper of the museum's Department of the Middle East, on 28 May. It was part of the UK's first Jewish Culture Month, organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Why the museum pulled the talk
The museum announced the postponement on the evening of 27 May. It said it had received credible information that a significant proportion of registered attendees intended to deliberately disrupt the event rather than attend it.
Director Nicholas Cullinan later put the figure at between 25% and 50% of ticket holders. The museum said events must proceed 'safely, securely and without intimidation'. It has not published the evidence behind the figure, which it says is standard practice for security matters.
This is the wrong decision, at the wrong time, and sends precisely the wrong message.
The Guardian reported that Jewish Artists for Palestine, a network of anti-Zionist Jewish artists, was linked to the registration plans. The group had publicly questioned the event and criticised the museum's decisions on gallery labelling.
The backlash forced a rapid U-turn
The postponement drew immediate criticism from senior Jewish figures. Lord Wolfson, the Shadow Attorney-General, called it 'the wrong decision, at the wrong time', adding it 'sends precisely the wrong message'. Historian Simon Schama said it was 'absolutely the wrong decision'.
Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cullinan describing the decision as 'wholly unacceptable'. He offered to pay the museum's additional security costs so the event could go ahead as planned.
Within days, the museum reversed course and confirmed a new date, with a livestream added because of demand.
The lecture went ahead without incident
The rescheduled event on 11 June proceeded with enhanced security, including ticketed entry and multiple bag searches. There were no disruptions.
Cullinan defended his handling of the row, saying the postponement protected the event rather than cancelled it. He told the Jewish Chronicle the museum 'did not and will not give in to intimidation and the heckler's veto'.
Jewish Culture Month ran from 16 May to 16 June with more than 100 events across UK institutions, launched at a time of heightened concern about antisemitism. The controversy over the lecture ended up giving it the largest audience of the entire month.
