British Museum postpones Jewish culture month lecture over protest fears

Decision draws criticism from some commentators and free speech advocates as well as Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch The British Museum has postponed a lecture for Jewish culture month over concerns that the event would be disrupted by protesters. The museum announced that the talk on ancient Israel and Judah, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, would be held at a later date. The talk in the museum’s BP lecture theatre was due to be given by Dr Paul Collins, the keeper of the Middle East department, and was expected to examine the archaeology and history of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah through artefacts held by the museum. It was also expected to touch on other historical events such as the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the Maccabean revolt, and was organised as part of the first ever Jewish culture month in the UK, which runs until 16 June. However, less than 24 hours before the event, the museum said it would be postponed. In a statement, the museum said it was informed that a “significant proportion” of the registered attenders were “individuals intending to deliberately disrupt the event, preventing others from participating in good faith and undermi