Anti-Israel protesters hung antisemitic banners and vandalized the Brooklyn Museum’s Jewish director and board members’ homes the morning of Wednesday, June 12. The attack is the latest in a string of vandalism incidents tied to war protests.
Protesters also vandalized a Palestinian Mission to the United Nations. The group left leaflets on nearby streets that encouraged overthrowing leaders and accused the Palestinian authority of being too close to Israel and the United States.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul commented on the attack. In a statement, she called it “an abhorrent act of antisemitism” that “has no place in New York or anywhere else.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he spoke with Anne Pasternak, the Brooklyn Museum’s director, shortly after she discovered the vandalism.
“This is not a peaceful protest or free speech,” Adams wrote on X. “This is a crime, and it’s overt, unacceptable antisemitism.”
Anti-Israel protesters targeted the Brooklyn Museum several times in recent weeks. A group of around 1,000 people entered the museum on May 31. It set up encampments, sprayed graffiti and defaced artwork and iconic staples on museum grounds.
Police arrested dozens of people during that incident.
These protesters have similar demands as those who set up encampments on college campuses in the spring. They called for art institutions like the Brooklyn Museum to disclose and divest financial ties to Israel.
