Anti-Israel Protesters Briefly Seize Museum Grounds
A group of anti-Israel protesters briefly took control of the area near a New York City museum amid a new round of protests against Israel. The incident occurred after weeks of high-profile pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
The incident occurred Friday as the protesters converged on the Brooklyn Museum. The demonstrators were able to place a banner on the side of the building. The banner and many of the protesters called Israel’s current war against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza “genocide.”
đ¨Arrests have been made at the anti-Israel protest outside the Brooklyn Museum. One protester got into a shoving match with an NYPD officer. The protester tried to run away but officers chased him, tackled him to the ground, and arrested him. pic.twitter.com/c4TKRuGGqk
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 31, 2024
About 1,000 protesters were involved in the demonstration earlier this week. Some of them surrounded the museum. Furthermore, some of the protesters clashed with police and security guards.
The protesters chanted insults against the members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and compared them to the Ku Klux Klan.
One of the sculptures outside of the museum was defaced by graffiti.
The incident at the historic museum caused it to close one hour early Friday, with the museum stating it was “out of a concern for the building, our collections, and our staff.”
The demonstration organized by Within Our Lifetime also came the same day after students held a protest at the Department of Education’s main building. However, these were not the only significant pro-Palestinian demonstrations recently, including in New York City.
Pro-Palestinian protests have become increasingly disruptive in recent months. On several college campuses, students took over academic buildings. Police also had to clear tent encampments from several universities.
Most recently, 80 students were arrested at UC Santa Cruz after building an encampment.
There were also protests at a number of college graduations, including some that disrupted the ceremonies themselves. Furthermore, some students walked out of the commencement speech given by comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
The protesters have faced different approaches by different college campuses. On some campuses, faculty came out to support the protesters. In other cases, some of the protesters faced academic punishments.
The protests have grown since Israelâs fight against Hamas after the group launched a terrorist attack last October that killed around 1,200 people.
