Antisemitic vandalism defaces home of Brooklyn Museum’s Pasternak in Brooklyn Heights

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS —Residents of Brooklyn Heights woke up Wednesday morning to discover that a co-op building in their neighborhood had been vandalized overnight with antisemitic remarks targeted at Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak.

Red spray paint was splattered on windows, pillars, a walkway and front door, and a sign with bloody handprints strung across the entrance reading, “ANNE PASTERNAK BROOKLYN MUSEUM WHITE-SUPREMACIST ZIONIST.”

In small print under this were the words, “FUNDS GENOCIDE.”

Police from the 84th Precinct blocked off the front of the stately Mansion House building on Hicks Street with crime scene tape and stood guard at the entrance all morning. An NYPD spokesperson told the Brooklyn Eagle that police were “actively investigating” the incident.

The building damage appears to be part of an escalation by a pro-Palestinian group that has been protesting at the museum, which the group connects to Israel’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza. The group “Within Our Lifetime” is demanding that the institution divest from any investments linked to Israel’s campaign. Dozens were recently arrested after damaging some artwork in the museum’s lobby.

“We are deeply troubled by these horrible acts,” said a Brooklyn Museum spokesperson.

The homes of other Jewish board members of the Brooklyn Museum were also defaced across the city.