As the old song says, “the British museum has lost its charm.” And for a very specific reason: it has given into the bullyboys who threatened to disrupt a Jewish Culture Month event after learning that “registered attendees were individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event.” That event has now been postponed indefinitely. More on this craven surrender to antisemites who had been planning to attend the event only in order to violently disrupt it can be found here: “British Museum delays Jewish Culture Month event after learning of planned protest,” by Mathilda Heller, Jerusalem Post, May 28, 2026:
The British Museum has postponed a Jewish Culture Month event after learning that “registered attendees were individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event.”
The museum announced Wednesday that the talk – Ancient Israel and Judah in the British Museum – was postponed “due to security concerns” and would not take place as scheduled on Thursday. The talk was to be given by Dr. Paul Collins, Keeper of the Department of the Middle East.
In a statement, the museum said it was recently 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 program.”
The museum said that it fully recognizes the importance of lawful protest and freedom of expression, but equally, that it has a responsibility to ensure that the events it hosts can proceed safely, securely, and without intimidation for speakers, staff, and visitors alike.
Following discussions with organizers and security partners, a joint decision was allegedly taken to postpone the event to a later date.
“This decision was made to protect the event – not to diminish it,” the museum said. “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.”
So the museum says it chose to “protect the event” by cancelling it — sorry, “postponing it.” What kind of protection is that? And when will It ever be safe to put on this event? In a month? In a year? In ten years? When will the fetid fever of antisemitism break, so that a perfectly innocuous event having to do with British Museum holdings related to ancient Israel can be held without fear of violence?
There will not soon be a time when such an event, celebrating the holdings in the British Museum pertaining to ancient Israel, can take place free of the threat of violence. But instead of postponing it, in the hope that in the near future it can be put on, the Museum ought to have stuck to its guns — that is, to its original schedule. It knew that there were people planning to attend the event only in order to disrupt it. Very well, then: the Museum can have a large and visible police presence in the lecture hall, as well as plainclothes detectives scattered throughout the audience, ready at a moment’s notice to immediately drag from the site anyone who starts to act up. Once these malefactors are out of the museum, they should be arrested for disturbing the peace, a punished with stiff fines and even, given that this was not just disturbing the peace but also a deliberate attempt to prevent free speech, possible prison time.
Westman says
The fog has gotten between the ears of Old London Town’s masters.
Kepha says
When Uncle Kepha was a young man, he visited London and went to the British Museum. While browsing the Manuscript Room to admire some old Chinese and Xi Xia texts, he noticed a coupled of bushy, Rabbincal-looking fellows murmuring over another case. One of them tiptoes over to the guard and whispers something to the guard. The guard then goes into the office behind the manuscript room and comes out with a curator who looks seriously imperious as only an old-fashioned Brit of the upper class can. The bushy, Rabbinical-looking guy whipserssomething to the curator, who turns a very bright scarlet color. The curator goes back to his office, comes out with keys, opens the case where the two Rabbinical-looking fellows were, opens it up, and turns some ultra-valuable codex in Hebrew lettering rightside up.
Many years later, after having studied theology and learning a gairish amount of Leshon Qodesh, Uncle Kepha is in a useum in Taichung, Taiwan, notices a display of different orhtographies, and thinks something’s wrong. It then dawns on him that the Hebrew letters are upside down and mirror image. And it is his turn to leave a message with museum authorities.
However, a museum in Sinitic Asia where the Jewish presence is miniscule might be excued for such a mistake. However, considering the long tradition of British Protestant biblical scholarship, as well as its long-standing and significant Jewish presence, one would think that the British Museum would not make the sort of mistake it did with a manuscript in Hebrew letters.
In any case, re the OP, although Uncle Kepha is a confessional Reformed Protestant Christian who believes that the Christian church, not a piece of the Middle East, is at the center of divine purposes in our age, he is disgusted by the news that the venerable British Museum should bow to a bunch of crazed Muslims and Leftists to cancel a display on Jewish culture. It’s downright shaemful. Long ago, during my theological studies, a guest lecturer who was a Jordanian Muslim archaeologist freely identified some of the sites on which he had worked in his home country as “Israelite”–even though his country and Israel had not made peace at that time. The Western Left’s politicization of everything needs to stop.
ploome says
Kepha or Peter
very charming post
jerry glenn says
Dhimmi Britain surges in the European Islamopandering derby
bill says
JW petty mindededly loves to go off halfcock on anything detrimental to UK. Here is an update.
Alongside our partners at Jewish Culture Month, we are pleased that the rescheduled lecture, The Ancient History of Israel and Judah, will take place early next month.
Booking details will be published on our website shortly. We expect strong demand and will also offer a livestream to make the event accessible to a wider audience.