The activists were calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and urging to “divest from genocide”
Pro-Palestinian activists have broken into the Brooklyn Museum in New York and scuffled with police on Friday, protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza that is nearing its ninth month.
People banged on glass doors and jumped security fences as they rushed inside the building and occupied much of the lobby, where they unfurled large banners and chanted slogans.
The banner hung atop the facade read “Free Palestine, divest from genocide,” while one person held a sign that said “Save the children of Rafah,” referring to the southern Gazan city currently besieged by the Israeli army.
A group of activists scuffled with police outside the museum. The officers eventually entered the lobby and made arrests there.
“There was damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza,” the museum said in an email to Reuters, adding that the “public safety staff were physically and verbally harassed.”
According to Reuters, at least one sculpture standing outside the museum has been vandalized with graffiti.
The US has seen a wave of pro-Palestinian protests since the fighting between the militant group Hamas and Israel broke out on October 7. The activists heckled politicians at public events and set up encampments at college campuses across the country. In many cases, police were forced to dismantle the camp and forcibly remove protesters who refused to leave.
On Friday, President Joe Biden said that Israel has offered a new ceasefire deal, which incorporates the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during its deadly October 7 raid into Israeli territory that triggered the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously stated that Israel’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where more than 36,000 people have been killed over the past eight months.
