Breaking News: Gaza Protestors Disrupt Brooklyn Heights Association Meeting

By on March 4, 2024 11:35 pm in 11201, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Heights Association, News

War in the Middle East made an unscheduled and unexpected incursion of the sanctuary of the First Unitarian Congregational Society, Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Heights Association’s Annual Meeting. What prompted this was that a speech by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was on the agenda. Before the meeting started a woman climbed up to the pulpit and began an impassioned speech decrying U.S. support for Israel and the horrors that war had inflicted on civilians in Gaza. In the photo, Lara Birnback, the BHA’s executive director, is standing behind her, imploring her to let the meeting proceed. Eventually, police officers escorted her from the pulpit, handcuffed her, and led her away.

Protest 2

The meeting proceeded through its agenda of local concerns, about which more in a later post, uninterrupted until Senator Gillibrand was introduced and began to talk. She managed a few sentences until another protestor (photo above) stood up from the audience and accused her of being complicit in atrocities in Gaza.

Gillibrand

The Senator tried to respond, saying she supported a cease-fire and wanted to see a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but was repeatedly interrupted by protestors scattered throughout the audience. Some were answered by other audience members shouting, “Free the hostages!” Each protestor, after a minute or so, was escorted from the audience by police. None resisted, but all shouted “Free Palestine Now!” as they were being led out. Senator Gillibrand invited the protestors to dialogue with her after the meeting.

Rev. Meagan Henry

The Rev. Meagan Henry, First Unitarian’s Assistant Minister, Religious Education and Pastoral Care (photo above), took the lectern, said she was deeply saddened by the war in Gaza and sympathized with the protestors’ concerns, but hoped they would respond to the Senator’s invitation to dialogue.

Gillibrand & Birnback

Senator Gillibrand and Ms. Birnback went to a table and two chairs under the pulpit for a dialogue on matters of local concern. The Senator had just begun to speak about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issue when another protestor began shouting. It was then apparent that Senator Gillibrand would not be allowed to speak on any subject, so she had no choice other than to leave the meeting, which then turned to the more pleasant matter of civic awards, about which more later.

Photos: C.Scales for BHB

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  • Andrew Porter

    I’ve been in touched with a friend who works for the New York Times about covering this. Meanwhile, here’s my photo of the protester at the pulpit being arrested:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f02ee26b0dc159fb8314982c19002abdfca13bf94de84fd6125f6272a2d19e8.jpg

  • fultonferryres

    But do you have a photo of her in 1940 for comparison?

  • Lara Birnback

    Just to clarify-there were no arrests. She, along with the other protestors who would not let the meeting proceed, were escorted outside where they remained until the conclusion of meeting.

  • BHA member

    There were no arrests.

    Like a lot of people, I’m sympathetic to the cause and support peaceful protest, even if it interferes with my day to day life.

    But once Senator Gillibrand offered to engage in dialog from the podium, they should have accepted that. This is how you communicate. It was a gut punch that when she made the extraordinary offer to meet with the group, the blew it. What a shame. That’s an opportunity that is unlikely to come around again.

    The BHA handled this just as well as possible. Kudos. I was taken aback by some of our neighbors who decided the best thing to do was scream back in the faces of these protesters with full throated hatred and anger. That was something to see. I understand the anger of the protesters. It’s an urgent situation. But our neighbors just screaming back in their faces .. not because of babies being killed, but because their neighborhood meeting was disrupted? Not sure I understand that. I certainly didn’t deescalate the tension in the room.

  • Allison B.

    As a Brooklyn Heights resident, I was deeply disappointed in BHA’s decision to host Gillibrand. What is going on in Gaza is not normal, and there can be no polite business as usual with someone who has been aiding and abetting genocide. Gillibrand has been ignoring her constituents for MONTHS on this. And now, when she’s caught in the public eye in a neighborhood space, she says she cares? I don’t think so! Palestinians are entering a fifth month of facing genocidal violence, with every single day bringing new horrors. Frankly, what is there even left to talk about? The scale of death and catastrophe is clear. Never has a genocide been so well-documented in real time.

  • BHA Member

    We were there and she didn’t say who cares. She wasn’t caught in the public eye. This was a scheduled event. The protests outside were allowed. BHA didn’t gate keep the meeting (and they could have).

    If you feel there is nothing to talk about, I wish you would have let others who really wanted to meet with her do so. What the protesters did was the opposite of what the BHA did. While the BHA allowed you to speak, your actions disallowed others to speak. My heart ached for Rev. Henry. I understand that you are not making progress with this senator on this issue and feel there is nothing left to talk about, but it’s the height of arrogance to say that because you can’t make it happen, no one can. I think Rev Henry was ready to enter into a dialog, not just yell in the Senator’s face. They could have been actually heard. I think movement is possible. I think movement must happen. I think your tactics, which you say have so far been unsuccessful, will remain unsuccessful. It’s disappointing you didn’t allow someone else try to succeed where you have failed.

  • Andrew Porter

    Big yucks. Not.

  • Allison B.

    I think you misunderstood me: I didn’t say Gillibrand said “who cares?” I was suggesting that Gillibrand was posturing that she cared about the protesters’ concerns, and she was doing it because the disrupters put her on the spot. I, along with tens of thousands of other New Yorkers, have been emailing and calling her on a regular basis for months upon months. More than 100 Democratic district leaders in the state have issued a statement imploring Senators Gillibrand and Schumer to call for a permanent ceasefire (https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/02/new-york-elected-officials-calling-ceasefire-gaza/394535/). And polls show the overwhelming majority of Democrats support a ceasefire (e.g., https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2024/2/27/voters-support-the-us-calling-for-permanent-ceasefire-in-gaza-and-conditioning-military-aid-to-israel).

    All we have gotten from the senator when calling and emailing and petitioning is silence and inaction. And if organized community groups cannot get an audience with the senator and Democratic party district leaders cannot sway her to take action, then you will have to forgive me if I don’t feel like I or anyone else last night blew our chance to get the senator to commit to a ceasefire. (Also just to be clear, I wasn’t actually inside the meeting, but I 100% support those who disrupted. And from what I heard, it sounds like Gillibrand did manage to say some words in which she reproduced misinformation about the ceasefire; whether she was purposefully lying or just lazily repeating talking points she was handed, I don’t know.)

    Moreover, I want to repeat my previous and primary point that there is an abundance of documentation of genocide there for anyone to see; many human rights, medical, and legal organizations have been issuing dire warning after dire warning for months; and the case against Israel for the crime of genocide is proceeding in the International Court of Justice. The Senator doesn’t need to meet with anybody at this point to learn about this issue. Inaction is unjustifiable at this point.

    I appreciate that you acknowledge the urgency of the situation. I hope everyone who disagrees with the tactic of disruption yet wants to see an end to this nightmare will redirect their focus from criticizing ordinary people trying to stop genocide toward their own preferred methods of moving our electeds to take this shamefully overdue action of calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege and collective punishment of Gaza. I urge people who believe that life is precious to take action every single day. This genocide, which would not be possible without US support, is not normal, and we simply cannot allow it to become normalized.

  • Maureen Silverman

    Polls also show most New Yorkers now oppose U.S. military weapons to Israel – along with supporting a permanent immediate ceasefire . Gillibrand does not even answer her phone – not for months – when constituents call her about this. I agree w Allison & implore everyone to Urge our representatives to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire- an end to U.S. weapons & diplomatic support of Israel & and end to the siege

  • Maureen Silverman

    To add Council Member Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn has repeatedly called on all our representatives to execute an immediate & permanent ceasefire !

  • Veritas

    Ok. So here we go. Which polls? Where were these same voices when women were being sexually assaulted and mutilated by hamas? It takes true evil to perpetuate those crimes. And ridding the world of evil is not easy.

    Calls for ceasefire are meaningless until Hamas gives back the hostages.

    Hamas has been offered mutliple ceasefires and refused them all? Why? They simply do not care for peace and do not care about the palestinians or israelis. Their leaders steal billions and live a life of luxury in Qatar while their people are impoverished.

    I think the loss of life all around is tragic. It won’t end until the hostages are returned plain and simple. This has been true since day 1 and remains true to this day.

    When someone kidnaps children, rapes women and burns families in front of their family members, it’s hard to trust them. There was a ceasefire before Oct 7th, Hamas broke it. They said they will continue these attacks. The only solution is to return the hostages and rid Gaza and the West Bank of Hamas.

    Where are these voices for the millions of Urghurs, the millions of Syrians and the millions of Kurds who have been truly victims of genocide.

  • B.

    Thank goodness there’s a level-headed person on this thread unafraid to call nonsense on these shrill, illogical pro-Hamas protests.

  • Maya

    II can’t tell if you are ignorant or deliberately refuse to tell the truth. The entire world knows those are unfounded rape claims. The Grayzone “Truth about October 7th”, is all based on israeli sources. If after 5 months you still don’t know isralis killed their own citizens, then I feel sorry for you.

  • Maya

    So brave!

  • Veritas

    Maya. Maya. Maya. Your antisemitism is showing. Please stop with the gaslighting.

    Even the Israel hating UN admitted as much that rapes, mutilation and untold atrocities occurred on Oct 7th. You don’t need to trust my words. Read someone else’s

    If the BBC, which never met a Jewish person it liked, can write this, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68474899 , you should start to question your sources.

    Open your eyes and recognize evil exists. The UN finally has. Full report here: https://news.un.org/en/sites/news.un.org.en/files/atoms/files/Mission_report_of_SRSG_SVC_to_Israel-oWB_29Jan_14_feb_2024.pdf

    And if you can stomach it, watch the videos- Hamas filmed them. You will never forget and never question it again.

  • Maya

    Sorry we no longer buy your antisemitism accusations. Please be more creative.
    I won’t bother responding to your messages, sorry no time.
    Feel free to watch the brilliant JEWISH, Max Blumenthal’s
    Truth about Oct 7
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0gECjlpXF8&t=11s

  • Veritas

    It is amazing the levels of disinformation that exist. Max is the same misanthrope at the Grayzone that denieedwar crimes committed by Russia, China and the Assad regime in Syria — so it’s no surprise he provides false narratives here as well. Read more here: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-27/ty-article-opinion/exposing-max-blumenthals-deceptive-claim-israel-is-responsible-for-most-october-7-victims/0000018c-102f-d65f-a7dd-f0ff7b550000

    What is most scary to me is that you cannot separate fact from fiction.

    It truly frightens me that you are my neighbor and walk the same streets as me.

    You see conspiracies where there are none. You close your eyes when they should be open.

    Judiasm teaches “tikkun olam” or “heal the world”.

    It’s a shame that this forum has devolved with such hate.

    I hope you can find love for your neighbors and see good where there is good and see evil where there is evil.

  • B.

    No one ever polled me or my level-headed friends and relatives who sincerely disapprove of women being raped to death.

  • clarknt67

    I was there. I have respect for the protesters. I think also that Gillibrand handled the situation very well. She was respectful to the protesters and tried to listen and engage. I think the protesters agenda was to disrupt. And I know it won’t be popular but I think that’s ok. People are literally starving to death every single and our government is facilitating and condoning the suffering. A change of course is needed and extremely quickly.

    I do look forward to the makeup speech and more about bishop’s crooks street lamps and rat resistant garbage bins.

  • clarknt67

    The old guy who was screaming at the top of his lungs “Sit down” is nationally famous now. Or infamous.

  • clarknt67

    I was sitting next to one of the protesters videographers. Gillibrand offered to speak privately with the assembled protesters after the meeting.* I and another woman repeatedly urged the group to take Gilibrand up on the offer. (In big picture it’s an extraordinary offer. Few senators would offer a private audience to someone crashing an event). I know Gillibrand well enough to know she would have listened and taken it to heart. But they didn’t.

    *BTW I think she offered the private audience was the room was very heated and doing it privately would have been less chaotic.

  • Andrew Porter

    My photo of Gillibrand trying to reason with the demonstrators before again being shouted down:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/31d59139db6737cb79e93f52fb7e6273e3ba096f2ab15bb87a9933c6c9f35bc1.jpg