Please note this event has been postponed. We apologise for any inconvenience.
It was a free one hour talk scheduled for tomorrow midday at the British Museum. I have been to a couple of these lunchtime short lectures myself; one memorable talk about 16th century musical instruments included live music on replica instruments. Brilliant.
Tomorrow one would have expected
Dr Paul Collins, Keeper of the Department of the Middle East, for this lunchtime talk on ancient Israel and Judah in the British Museum.
The histories of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah can be illuminated by the archaeology and art of the wider ancient Middle East. Material remains – monuments, reliefs, inscriptions and documents – shed light on the political, cultural and imperial forces that shaped the region between approximately 900 and 50 BC. Some of the most significant of these objects are preserved in the British Museum.
This talk introduces these objects to explore how the collapse of Canaanite (an ancient Semitic-speaking civilisation) city-states created space for new identities and emerging powers, while successive empires – Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Seleucid – came to dominate the Middle East. Archaeological evidence documents key historical moments, including the Assyrian siege of Lachish and the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Later imperial policies enabled displaced communities to return and rebuild, while resistance to Seleucid rule culminated in the Maccabean Revolt (a successful Jewish uprising against the Seleucid empire and Hellenistic influence in Judea) and the rise of the dynamic Hasmonean kingdom (the Jewish ruling dynasty of Judea from about 141 to 37 BC).
Any Jewish attracts opprobrium these days, but I suppose a talk confirming Jewish civilisation and successful rule in the area, their presence there continuously for over 3000 years is a slap to the rabble claiming colonial settlement and theft.
The museum hasn’t actually cited ‘security concerns’ publicly but that is the general 
opinion expressed by reputable people, including academics, who are likely to have heard verbally. Had the lecturer been taken ill,or the ceiling of the lecture room fallen in the Museum need have had no hesitation in giving the reason and an alternative date.
I don’t know if Dr Collins was planning (or permitted) to show the Cyrus cylinder. It is a highly important document.
Update with statement from the Museum
Tomorrow’s event, led by members of our senior curatorial team alongside organisers from Jewish Culture Month, has been planned for many months as part of our commitment to education, scholarship and cultural dialogue.
In recent days, we were informed that a significant proportion of registered attendees were individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event, preventing others from participating in good faith and undermining the purpose of the programme.
The British Museum fully recognises the importance of lawful protest and freedom of expression in a democratic society. Equally, we have a responsibility to ensure that events hosted within the Museum can proceed safely, securely and without intimidation for speakers, staff and visitors alike.
Following discussions with organisers and security partners, a joint decision was taken to postpone the event to a later date when it can take place in an environment that properly safeguards both the audience experience and the integrity of the programme itself.
This decision was made to protect the event — not to diminish it. We will continue to support Jewish Culture Month and remain committed to providing a space where history, culture and scholarship can be explored openly, respectfully and without disruption.
The Board of Deputies intend to work with the Museum to reschedule
But, as one comment says, and she says the truth
It’s is a really dark day when a talk about the history of ancient Israel and Judah is cancelled by the British Museum because of ‘security concerns’. Is this what we do now? We cave in?
