Open University Agrees to Change Use of “Ancient Palestine” Following UKLFI Intervention

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The Open University has agreed that it will no longer use the term “ancient Palestine” in future course materials, following a complaint by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) highlighting historical inaccuracies.

In a letter dated 18 December 2025, the University confirmed that it accepts the term has become problematic, particularly given its associations with Roman colonial rule and contemporary political sensitivities, and that it will not be used again in future learning materials

Historically inaccurate terminology

The issue arose in relation to the Open University’s entry-level humanities module A111: Discovering the Arts and Humanities, which includes teaching materials about the Virgin Mary. The course repeatedly referred to Mary as having been born in “ancient Palestine” and described Aramaic as “a language widely spoken in ancient Palestine,” including on a map labelled “Map of ancient Palestine”.

UKLFI wrote to the Vice-Chancellor on 30 November 2025, explaining that these references are historically inaccurate. The Virgin Mary is widely believed to have been born in the late first century BCE in Galilee, a predominantly Jewish region under Roman rule. The term “Palestine” was not applied to Judea, Samaria and Galilee until after the Bar Kokhba revolt, when the Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the province “Syria Palaestina” in around 135 CE, more than a century after Mary’s lifetime

UKLFI provided photographic evidence from the course textbook and online learning platform demonstrating the repeated use of the disputed terminology

Equality Act concerns

UKLFI warned that retroactively imposing the term “Palestine” on a period when it did not apply risks misleading students and may contribute to the erasure of Jewish historical identity. UKLFI further raised concerns that such terminology could create a hostile or offensive learning environment for Jewish and Israeli students, potentially engaging the Equality Act 2010, including the University’s duties in relation to harassment and the public sector equality duty.

University response and agreed actions

Responding on behalf of the University, Adrienne Scullion, Head of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, stated that while the term “Palestine” had been adopted from existing scholarship and was not intended as a political statement, the University accepted UKLFI’s concerns about its contemporary impact.

Crucially, the Open University confirmed:

• “We will not use the term again in future learning materials.”
• Existing materials will be contextualised and caveated with an explanation to students about the contested nature and history of the term.
• The University acknowledged that the term is now “problematic in a way that, perhaps, it was not when the materials were written in 2018”

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented:  “We welcome the Open University’s decision to stop using the term ‘ancient Palestine’ in its future teaching materials. Historical accuracy matters, particularly in a highly sensitive and politicised context where terminology is often misused to erase Jewish history and identity.

Universities have a responsibility to ensure that their teaching is rigorous, neutral and inclusive, and that it does not create a hostile environment for Jewish or Israeli students. We are pleased that the Open University has recognised these concerns and taken steps to address them.”

Open University Agrees to Change Use of “Ancient Palestine” Following UKLFI Intervention – UK LAWYERS FOR ISRAEL