{"id":172189,"date":"2024-06-06T14:43:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=172189"},"modified":"2024-06-06T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:43:13","slug":"brooklyn-museum-palestinian-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/brooklyn-museum-palestinian-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Palestinian Protest at Brooklyn Museum Leads to Arrests and Artwork Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A pro-Palestinian <a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/brooklyn-museum-workers-demand-equitable-employment-terms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protest at the Brooklyn Museum<\/a> resulted in 34 arrests and reported damage to some artwork.<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators called for the museum to disclose and divest from investments linked to Israel, while police intervened to disperse the crowd, leading to several confrontations.<\/p>\n           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#4db2ee;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#4db2ee;background-color:rgba(77, 178, 238, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the Brooklyn Museum, leading to 34 detentions and reported damage to artwork.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The demonstration saw clashes between police and protesters, with arrests made for various misdemeanors and crimes.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Protesters called for the museum to disclose and divest from financial ties to Israel and condemned the lack of public statements on the conflict in Gaza.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<h2>Hundreds Gather at Brooklyn Museum, 34 Detained<\/h2>\n<p>On Friday, a pro-Palestinian protest at the Brooklyn Museum led to the <b>detention of 34 individuals by New York City police<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>The protest resulted in <a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/art-events\/climate-protest-at-botticellis-birth-of-venus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">damage to some artwork<\/a> and harassment of security staff.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of protesters marched from the Barclays Center to the museum, <b>setting up tents in the lobby and unfurling a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d banner from the roof.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>New York City police officers engaged in <b>physical altercations with some protesters <\/b>outside the museum while other demonstrators hurled plastic bottles at officers.<\/p>\n<p>Many protesters held banners, waved Palestinian flags, and chanted on the museum&#8217;s steps.<\/p>\n<h2>Arrests and Charges<\/h2>\n<p>Of the 34 people detained, <b>6 were arrested and charged with crimes ranging from trespassing to assault.<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b>Another <b>23 were released after receiving tickets or summonses for misdemeanors<\/b>, including trespassing, making graffiti, damaging property, and resisting arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Police did not provide information on the remaining 5 individuals.<\/p>\n<h2>The Statement from Cultural Front for Free Palestine<\/h2>\n<p>The Cultural Front for Free Palestine (CFFP), an advocacy coalition, issued a statement ahead of the protest. In it, the group criticized the <b>lack of public statements from major art institutions on Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>They cited the <b>death of over 30,000 Palestinians<\/b> as reported by the local health ministry and highlighted the offensive in Rafah, where one million Palestinians sought refuge.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition called for the museum to <b>recognize the war in Gaza as a genocide, disclose financial ties to companies profiting from arming Israel, and divest from any investments <\/b>linked to Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n<h2>March and Protest Details<\/h2>\n<p>The protest<b> began across the street from the Barclays Center<\/b>, and by 4:30 p.m., protestors were inside the museum&#8217;s lobby, holding banners and beating drums.<\/p>\n<p>Organizers, including the group Within Our Lifetime, aimed to &#8220;<b>flood&#8221; and &#8220;de-occupy&#8221; the museum<\/b>, demanding the museum disclose and divest from any investments linked to Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n<h2>Protest Conclusion and Arrests<\/h2>\n<p>By 5:20 p.m. on Friday, police and museum security had dispersed protesters from the museum lobby.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters had scattered <b>synthetic red poppy petals, a symbol of resistance, across the floor<\/b> and remained peaceful while holding banners with slogans like \u201cSilence = Death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some protesters intended to occupy the museum overnight by setting up tents.<\/p>\n<p>By 6 p.m., most protesters had left the museum entrance and atrium roof, but a <b>crowd remained outside<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Some scrawled slogans on the Deborah Kass\u2019 OY\/YO installation led to further arrests. Police removed the banner amid boos from the crowd.<\/p>\n<h2>Brooklyn Museum&#8217;s Response to the Protest<\/h2>\n<p>Museum spokesperson Taylor Maatman stated that the <b>museum closed an hour early due to safety concerns<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Maatman confirmed that existing and <b>newly installed artworks on the plaza were damaged<\/b>, and public safety staff faced <b>physical and verbal harassment<\/b>.<\/p>\n<h2>Museum Protest Highlights Activists&#8217; Demands for Accountability<\/h2>\n<p>The pro-Gaza protest at the Brooklyn Museum underscored activists&#8217; and community members&#8217; calls for accountability and transparency, especially regarding the museum&#8217;s financial connections to controversial international actions.<\/p>\n<p>Significantly, the protest caused multiple disruptions, including arrests, damage to artwork, and the museum closing early, showing the intensity and determination of the demonstrators.<\/p>\n<p>This event highlights the significant role cultural institutions play in reflecting societal values and the ongoing discussions about fairness and human rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10028,"featured_media":172191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172189"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}