Brooklyn museum sees pro-Palestinian occupation as protesters demand justice

Pro-Palestinian protesters took over parts of the Brooklyn Museum on Friday, hanging a banner above the main entrance, occupying much of the lobby and scuffling with police, witnesses said.

The art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said it closed an hour early because of the disruption, including skirmishes between police and protesters that took place inside and outside the building.

Some arrests were made but a New York Police Department spokesperson said there would be no official count until after the protest concluded. A demonstration continued outside the museum hours after the initial confrontation, but the spokesperson could not say whether any protesters remained inside.

One of the arrests was of a man who defaced an outdoor sculpture with graffiti, a Reuters witness said. Several protesters scrawled messages on the OY/YO sculpture on the plaza outside the entrance.

“There was damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza,” a museum spokesperson said in an email. “Protesters entered the building, and our public safety staff were physically and verbally harassed.

“Out of a concern for the building, our collections, and our staff, the decision was made to close the building an hour early,” and the public was asked to vacate peacefully, the statement said.

Demonstrations against Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza have continued in the United States, largely on university campuses.

At Columbia University in upper Manhattan, demonstrators on Friday set up an encampment on campus during an alumni reunion to show support for Palestinians.

The Israeli-Palestinian war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people.

Palestinian health authorities estimate more than 36,280 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel responded.

Reuters