British Museum postpones Jewish Culture Month event over protest fears

British Museum postpones Jewish Culture Month event over protest fears6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHenry MooreBBC NewsReutersThe museum has said the decision was made to "protect the event - not to diminish it"The British Museum has postponed a Jewish Culture Month event on ancient Israel and Judah over fears of planned protests.The talk, which was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was postponed after the London museum was told a "significant proportion" of attendees were planning to cause disruption.The museum has said the decision was made to "protect the event - not to diminish it" and later, following criticism, announced it would take place "early next month".The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it showed that "once again, the antisemitic mob has scored a victory", while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Jewish acts were "being routinely cancelled".The Board of Deputies of British Jews announced last year that it was launching the first ever Jewish Culture Month, with more than 100 events taking place across the country to celebrate Jewish history and culture.The month of culture began on 16 May, and comes after several antisemitic attacks across London saw the terror threat raised to "severe".Announcing its decision to postpone the talk, the British Museum said: "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."In an updated statement shared on Thursday afternoon the museum said: "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 of...