Antisemitic vandals smeared their hatred at the homes of Brooklyn Museum officials between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in the latest act of ugly intolerance to plague the city.
Vandals defaced the Manhattan and Brooklyn homes of several board members and the director of the Prospect Heights-based museum between June 11-12, using red spray paint to cover the facade and windows of at least one house and leaving messages of hate.
A banner dotted with handprints resembling blood was tied to the columns of museum director Anne Pasternak’s building on Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights. Its message read, “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum white supremacist zionist.”
City Comptroller Brad Lander (D) posted photos of the heinous display on X (formerly Twitter).
“Last night vandals defaced the homes of the Jewish director and several Jewish board members of the Brooklyn Museum,” he wrote. “The cowards who did this are way over the line into antisemitism, harming the cause they claim to care about and making everyone less safe.”
Last night vandals defaced the homes of the Jewish director & several Jewish board members of the @brooklynmuseum.
The cowards who did this are way over the line into antisemitism, harming the cause they claim to care about, and making everyone less safe. pic.twitter.com/MzEVgJYCwQ
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) June 12, 2024
Some of the photos appear to show inverted red triangles within the graffiti. An inverted red triangle has become a symbol used by pro-Palestinian protestors to show solidarity.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the symbol is also used to glorify or call for violence.
It is unclear right now how many board members had their homes vandalized. A neighbor who lives in the Hicks Street building that was attacked said he was “shocked” upon seeing the facade defaced, adding that it felt targeted to Jewish people.
“We’re a Jewish family that lives in the building,” said the resident, who preferred to remain anonymous. “It feels terrible, and it felt very pointedly Jewish.”
The resident added that it is ok to protest peacefully but not hurt others.
“Cultural institutions, schools…their job is not to have a position on anything political. They are there to teach,” the father of two said. “I don’t think cultural institutions, schools or libraries need to have a position. I think if you’re a group that feels strongly about a position, you can protest and make your voice heard. But if you’re not getting what you want and you’re not changing these institutions to the way you want, you can’t take it further than that. You can’t blow things up. You can’t vandalize. You can’t attack people personally, especially based on their identity, culture or religion.”
Outrage over hatred
City Council Member Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) told amNewYork Metro he was outraged by the incidents — two of which took place in his Upper East Side district.
“I was shocked and appalled by the attacks,” the council member said. “This has absolutely no place in my district or in our city.”
Powers said the 19th Precinct reached out to him this morning about the incidents that occurred on the Upper East Side.
The NYPD released photos and video of the suspects who vandalized the Brooklyn Heights building.
Other local elected officials expressed their outrage online, too, including Mayor Eric Adams.
“This is not peaceful protest or free speech,” the mayor wrote on X. This is a crime, and it’s overt, unacceptable antisemitism. These actions will never be tolerated in New York City for any reason. I’m sorry to Anne Pasternak and member of the the Brooklyn Museum’s board who woke up to hatred like this.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine (D) echoed the mayor’s comments on X.
“This is not legitimate protest,” he wrote. “This is not free speech. This is vile antisemitism making Jews unsafe. We cannot turn a blind eye to this.”
Anyone with information regarding any of the incidents can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Trail of intolerance
Taylor Maatman, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Museum, said the institution is “deeply troubled” by the targeted vandalism.
“We are deeply troubled by these horrible acts of vandalism targeting museum leadership,” Maatman said. “For two centuries, the Brooklyn Museum has worked to foster mutual understanding through art and culture, and we have always supported peaceful protest and open, respectful dialogue. Violence, vandalism, and intimidation have no place in that discourse.”
Tuesday’s vandalism is not the first time the museum has been attacked by members of the pro-Palestine movement. A mob of demonstrators surrounded the museum during a pro-Palestine protest on May 31 that led to reports of damaged art and staff harassment, as well as multiple arrests.
According to an NBC report, protestors that day called for the museum to disclose and divest “from any investments linked to Israel’s months-long military assault on the Gaza Strip.”
It is not clear if Tuesday’s vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime. But antisemitism and bias incidents have proliferated both locally and nationally since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East on Oct. 7, 2023.
More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, and many others are suffering from starvation as the war has cut off a lot of the flow of food, medicine and other supplies, according to the Associated Press.
Pro-Palestinian protests also continue, with some turning hostile and leading to arrests.
Most recently, a protest in Lower Manhattan on Monday turned violent outside an exhibit that pays tribute to the hundreds of people killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Demonstrators flooded Wall Street in front of the Nova Music Festival Exhibition, lighting flares, penetrating police barriers and chanting messages such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Several people were arrested.
Meanwhile, as violent protests and antisemitic incidents continue in the city, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released a study last week about Columbia University, a school rocked by pro-Palestinian protests throughout the spring. The study revealed a “disturbing normalization of hate, foreign influence and antisemitic intimidation” on its campus.
“The revelations in the ISGAP report highlight a troubling trend of growing antisemitism and extremism at one of the elite American universities,” said Charles Small, executive director of ISGAP. “The normalization of hate and support for terrorism within Columbia University’s academic and social environment is not only an affront to American democratic values, but poses a direct threat to the principles of academic freedom, safety, and diversity that should define our higher education institutions.”
