The Open University (OU) has reversed its position on using the term ‘ancient Palestine’ in academic materials following significant scholarly backlash. This development comes after pressure from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), who previously persuaded the university to abandon the terminology.
In November 2025, UKLFI argued that references to ‘ancient Palestine’ in an OU humanities module could create a ‘hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students’ and potentially violate equality legislation. The group claimed the term was historically inaccurate for periods before Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the region ‘Syria Palaestina’ in the second century CE.
Initially, the university’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences head Adrienne Scullion acquiesced to these demands in December, promising to eliminate the term from future materials and contextualize its use in existing ones. UKLFI celebrated this as a victory on their website.
However, this decision triggered substantial academic opposition. Over 600 scholars and public figures, including prominent Israeli historians Ilan Pappe and Avi Shlaim alongside Palestinian historians Rashid Khalidi and Nur Masalha, signed an open letter demanding retraction. They argued the commitment threatened academic freedom, potentially violated the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, and represented complicity in ‘politically motivated attempts to erase Palestine from history.’
The OU has now clarified its position through a spokesperson, stating academics remain ‘free to use the term ‘ancient Palestine’ where scholarly appropriate’ without mandatory contextual notes. The university explained its previous commitment to UKLFI applied only to a single module ‘scheduled for replacement.’
This controversy occurs amidst broader patterns of institutional pressure. UKLFI has similarly targeted the British Museum and Encyclopaedia Britannica regarding Palestinian references, though the museum denied acting on UKLFI’s complaints. Academic experts maintain that ‘ancient Palestine’ is historically accurate, with OU classical studies lecturer Marchella Ward calling claims of its illegitimacy a ‘lie’ supporting ‘the erasure of Palestinians.’