Anti-Israel protest at Brooklyn Museum leads to 34 arrests, damages exhibits
34 people were arrested after clashes with the police during an anti-Israel protest at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, the city police reported. The institution reported damage to some exhibits and harassment of security staff by the demonstrators.
So far, the police have not presented detailed charges that will be brought against the protest participants—the AP provided this information.
The protest took place on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of demonstrators stormed the museum, set up tents in the hall, and hung banners on the building's roof.
The protest organisers called on their supporters to "flood" and "occupy" the museum. They claimed they wanted to occupy the institution until the museum authorities "disclose and divest" any investments related to Israel's activities in the Gaza Strip.
The museum's spokesperson, Taylor Maatman, said that some works of art from permanent and temporary exhibitions ended in "damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza, and some members of our public safety staff were physically and verbally assaulted and harassed."
Riots in New York City. Footage on social media
Footage posted on social media shows guards trying to secure the doors against the pressing crowd and demonstrators attempting to break in.
The organisation "Within Our Lifetime," which initiated the protest, posted on social media that its chairwoman, Nerdeen Kiswani, was "targeted and brutally detained" by the police.
In the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, hundreds of street demonstrations have already taken place in New York City.
Brooklyn Museum, the protest site, is located on the edge of the Crown Heights neighbourhood, which is home to one of the city's largest Orthodox Jewish communities.
