This photo from 2020 shows the exterior of the Brooklyn Museum with Deborah Kass’ iconic sculpture on display. Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images

By Beth Harpaz December 11, 2023

Protesters affixed a Palestinian flag to the iconic OY/YO sculpture outside the Brooklyn Museum during a weekend rally that included draping pro-Palestinian signs over the museum facade. 

The bright yellow OY/YO sculpture by Jewish artist Deborah Kass, situated on a plaza outside the museum on Eastern Parkway, was not damaged. Pro-Palestinian protesters appeared to have taped the flag to the Y and a kaffiyeh on the O.

“The museum contacted me after the demonstration and told me the piece was fine,” Kass said by email, adding that “there had been a pro-Israel rally there a week ago.”

The sculpture is a beloved celebration of the city’s multiculturalism and is a popular selfie spot. It depicts the letters Y and O so that, depending on which side it’s viewed from, it says “Yo” or “Oy.” The terms are rooted in Yiddish, Spanish and in pop-culture slang, but are used in common parlance by New Yorkers (and others) of varying ethnicities. 

Museum spokesperson Taylor Maatman confirmed that “no artwork was damaged, and the rally remained outdoors on our public plaza.” 

But undated video posted on social media Saturday by Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian group, appeared to show protesters parading through the museum carrying a banner reading “Brooklyn Museum, No Silence on Genocide,” and chanting slogans including, “Brooklyn Museum, you will see, Palestine will be free.” The protesters also were shown standing just inside the front doors of the building with signs.

Within Our Lifetime’s Instagram post said the museum was “not an arbitrary gathering point” but was chosen as a protest site because its corporate donors include, for example, institutions that own stock in Elbit, which manufactures weapons used by Israel.

Responding to a query from the Forward, Within Our Lifetime said that police and museum staff were on hand “but no one removed anything or ticketed or reprimanded us, we stayed as long as we wanted and left when we were done.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly demonstrated in front of the museum and other high-profile spots in Brooklyn in the weeks since Oct. 7, when Hamas murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 in surprise attacks on kibbutzim and a music festival in Israel. Israel responded with a bombing campaign and invasion of Gaza that officials there say has killed more than 17,000 people.

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