New York mayor denounces vandalisation of Brooklyn Museum director’s home: “It’s overt, unacceptable antisemitism”
The entrance to the home of Brooklyn Museum director, Anne Pasternak, has been vandalised by pro-Palestine protestors. It has been branded with red paint and a large white banner that describes her as a “white-supremacist zionist.”
Following the incident, the New York Police Department has opened an investigation into the individuals responsible for vandalising her property. Furthermore, several Jewish members of the museum’s board of directors also had their homes vandalised.
The official report, posted by the city of New York, states that the director and other affiliates of the Brooklyn Museum had their homes vandalised overnight between June 11th and 12th. Outside of Pasternak’s house, a banner reads, “Brooklyn Museum Anne Pasternak White-Supremacist Zionist”. Another banner says, “Funds Genocide.” Additionally, nearby doors and windows were splashed with fake blood, and blooded handprints had also been left.
Kathy Hochul, the New York state governor, has taken to X to voice her disdain over the protests. “This is an abhorrent act of antisemitism and it has no place in New York or anywhere else,” she said.
Hochul continued: “We stand with the Jewish community in the face of hate and will continue to fight antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”
The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, also denounced the vandalism in a similar post. He wrote, “This is not peaceful protest or free speech. This is a crime, and it’s overt, unacceptable antisemitism.”
According to NYPD officials, five homes were victims of the vandalism, three in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan. The other homes targeted alongside Pasternak’s were Kimberly Panicek Trueblood, the institution’s president and chief operating officer, and two of the museum’s trustees. Nobody has been arrested in connection to the crime yet, but police confirm they believe 15 people were involved and were last seen driving a white U-Haul rental truck in Manhattan, on the Upper East Side.
A spokesperson for the Brooklyn Museum has told The Art Newspaper: “We are deeply troubled by these horrible acts targeting leaders connected to the museum.”
They continued, “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.”
Members of the Association of Art Museum Directors have also denounced the vandalism. They state they understand the emotion provoked by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East but do not believe it means protestors can attack individual homes.
This is a developing story.
