Palestinian supporters vandalize homes of Brooklyn Museum employees and other sites in New York

NEW YORK — Palestinian protesters vandalized sites associated with the Brooklyn Museum and the United Nations in New York City, throwing red paint at their entrances in opposition to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Mayor Eric Adams posted on social platform on Wednesday that police are investigating after the homes of museum director Anne Pasternak and members of the museum’s board of directors were targeted.

He shared four images of a brick building splattered with red paint with a banner hanging in front of the door that read: “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White Supremacist Zionist.”

“This is not peaceful protest or free speech. This is a crime and is open and unacceptable anti-Semitism,” Adams wrote, sending condolences to Pasternak and the museum board members. “These actions will never be tolerated in New York City for any reason.”

Taylor Maatman, a spokeswoman for the museum, declined to provide further details but noted that a report has been filed with police.

“We are deeply troubled by these horrific acts of vandalism against the museum’s leadership,” she said in an emailed statement.

Red paint was also sprayed in front of buildings associated with the German consulate, as well as the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, where leaflets critical of the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbaswere also scattered outside the building.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department declined to comment, saying the agency is investigating and will provide more information at a later date. Messages seeking comment were also sent on Wednesday to Palestinian and German diplomats.

Hundreds of protesters marched to the Brooklyn Museum late last month, setting up tents in the lobby and unfurling a “Free Palestine” banner on the building’s roof before police moved in to make dozens of arrests.

Within Our Lifetime and other organizers of that protest said the museum is “deeply invested in and complicit” in the war through its leadership, trustees, corporate sponsors and donors.

The protest group did not respond to an email seeking comment.

City Comptroller Brad Lander, who was among the New York politicians who spoke out against the protests, said the Brooklyn Museum has done more to address issues of “power, colonialism, racism.” & the role of art” than many other museums.

“The cowards who did this crossed the line into anti-Semitism, damaging the cause they claim to care about and making everyone less safe,” he said. wrote in X.

The grand Fine Arts museum, which is the city’s second largest, sits on the edge of Crown Heights, home to one of the city’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities.

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Associated Press reporter Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report. Follow Filipe Marcelo on x.com/philmarcelo.