Bournemouth Museum Postpones Jewish Heritage Exhibition Amid Hate Crime Concerns

The Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth has postponed a Jewish heritage exhibition originally scheduled to run from November 2025 to March 2026, citing concerns about recent hate crimes in the area, including anti-Semitic graffiti and an attack on a Jewish teenager. The exhibition, part of a National Heritage Lottery-funded project researched by local Jewish communities, aims to document Jewish life in Bournemouth from 1880 to 2020 for future generations. While the museum insists the exhibition has not been cancelled and is working to reschedule it, the decision has drawn sharp criticism from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which accused the museum of succumbing to anti-Semitic threats and silencing Jewish culture at a time of rising anti-Semitism in Britain. The Campaign warned that such actions undermine British values and the right of Jewish communities to celebrate and share their history in peace. The museum emphasized its commitment to diversity and condemned all hate crimes while stating that postponement was a precautionary response to a sensitive local context. Authorities continue to investigate the hate incidents, including the arrest of a suspect connected to the air rifle attack.