The Museum was widely criticized in 2017 for cancelling the Museum's agreement to rent space for a party celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Independence of the State of Israel citing objections raised by ?Palestinian friends of the museum.?[17][18][19] Museum Director Laura Raicovich, who had called the party a ?political event,? is the co-editor of Assuming Boycott: Resistance, Agency and Cultural Production. (OR Books, 2017 ISBN 1944869433), a book advocating the boycott of Israel.[20] The cancellation of the Israel event was condemned by politicians including Grace Meng, Dov Hikind, Michael Simanowitz, and Rory Lancman, who worked to restore the Museum's commitment to host the event.[20][21][22][23] The planned event was to include a staged reenactment of the November 29, 1947, United Nations vote to recognize the State of Israel; an event that took place in the building that is now the Museum's main gallery.[24]
