Topeka-based hate group Westboro Baptist Church is targeting Brooklyn Jews with a barrage of hate-filled demonstrations this week.
“These guys are really sick; they’re filled with hatred for Jews and a lot of other people,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park). “We have to make their lives miserable when they come to Brooklyn.”
The anti-Semitic, anti-gay organization plans to picket five synagogues in the borough this coming Shabbos, the day before Yom Kippur. The group is on a four-day visit to New York, where they’ll demonstrate at 19 locations, mostly synagogues, around the city and Long Island.
They will start today at Brooklyn Tech High School in Fort Greene to bring their message to students.
The group’s members think the end of the world is coming, and frequently picket churches, temples and even funerals to try to spread their beliefs.
About 10 extremists drove from Topeka to New York for this week’s demonstrations. They plan to assemble on sidewalks and sing anti-Jewish songs and display signs with slogans such as “God Hates Jews” and “America is Doomed.”
“We’re not looking for any welcome wagon,” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, 57, a Westboro organizer. “We just hope the police will keep the peace.”
She said the group has visited New York for protests 34 times since 1994, and has never had a violent incident.
Westboro members have visited Brooklyn twice previously, most recently to picket the Christian Cultural Center on Flatlands Ave. in 2006. They have now decided to target Jews in the borough because “there are 1.6 million Jews in New York and Brooklyn so we need to go there,” Phelps-Roper said.
The first of the five temples the group plans to picket on Saturday is Shomrei Emunah in Borough Park.
“I’ll be there, and so will many members of the Jewish community,” said Hikind. “I think there will be a lot of anger.”
The police have been notified of the group’s plan to picket Shomrei Emunah and the other sites.
Borough President Marty Markowitz, City Councilman Bill de Blasio, Rabbi Andy Bachman of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, community leader and politician Brad Lander and the Lambda Independent Democrats issued a joint statement yesterday that read, in part:
“While we support the right to peacefully gather, we must denounce hate in any form – especially hate from a fanatic cult based in Kansas that has shamefully selected these sacred days observed by the Jewish community around the world to spew its intolerance.”
The hate-filled group will also be protesting at Shuls in Great Neck.
(Source: NY Daily News)
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20 Responses
They will also be in Flatbush shabbos morning at 8:30 AM at the East Midwood Jewish Center at 1625 Ocean Avenue.
Just ignore them dont engage them that will be the biggest slap in the face they want confrontation dont give it to them
Attention Dov Hikind and Marty Markowitz: Can’t this be prevented so that they don’t get the press coverage they seek?!? -and so that no Jews end up getting arrested (especially on Shabbas) for beating the —- out of these subhumans!
This is an overreaction by people not familiar with Westboro and Fred Phelps. Phelps only goes where he gets attention. If you recall, he became most well known for protesting at funerals for soldiers killed in the Iraq war. It was the perfect place for him because people were emotional at the funerals.
If he sees that he’s getting attention and that people get angry, he comes back. If he sees that he’s ignored, he finds another place to go.
Keep in mind, this is a cult that is VERY small in number and everything they do is for attention. True they are a very hateful group, but by giving them attention we’re only encouraging them to come back and do it again. Any publicity is good publicity. That’s what he lives by.
The only proper reaction to Phelps is to ignore him and his 10 followers as though they were some annoying pigeons on the street.
When this group came to Chicago six weeks ago no one knew. That is because, this group of loonies crave attention. By ignoring them, the twenty meshugaim nicely picked up after two hours and moved on. Had they been protested against, the crowd would have grown, and they would be able to succeed.
They play on people’s emotions, and hope the counter-protesters make a scene. This way they can show how the counter-protesters are bigots and hatemongers. While Hikind has the best of intentions here, IT’S A MAJOR MISTAKE.
Isn’t East Midwood Jewish Center an anti-Torah, anti-Yiddishkeit center, that is Conservative?
maybe they need a reminder that they are Jewish?
as Arnold fine of the Jewish press says i remember when.
the story is as follows . in 1976 the Nazis yemach shemom wanted to march by the liberty bell . the tried to get a permit from police department to march by the liberty bell and the late frank rizzo the mayor of philadelphia refused to give them a permit to march .
they went to federal court and sued the city of Philadelphia for not giving them a permit to march and they won on appeal.
when the Nazis yemach shemom asked the Philadelphia police department to provide them with security , they were told by the late mayor frank rizzo , since you got a federal permit to march then let the feds protect you and not my police department.
however in the next moment they were told that the police department will be there to protect the people of Philadelphia and if any one of you troublemakers get out of by looking the wrong way or saying the wrong thing to anybody my police department will be there to crack your heads and take you off to jail.
guess what happened , they never marched in Philadelphia.
when I read this i really had tear in my eyes. Why? because such hatred is so disgusting. Then I thought it is just Hashem, our Avinu in Shamaim that wants us to do teshuva so he can finally bring the geula sheleima b’korov. If we cry out to him he will always help. I am not at liberty to discuss the miracles that he did in my life in a public forum, but HE can do anything. This group of haters exists only to make us daven more.
What are they picketing? The fact there are synagogues and Jews in Brooklyn? That is not a free speech issue; that is harassment.
I totally agree with the previous posters. IGNORE THEM. Do not give them the attention they seek.
I think the politicians are trying to capitalize on the press that these wackos are already getting. If they really want what is best for the frum community and they don’t want these crazies to come back, don’t attract more media attention with counter-protests! Just completely ignore them!
#6 A Yid is a Yid . Dont forget that!
To #6, Avrohom: You sound a bit like a Jewish Westboro…
Avrohom,
Perhaps, it is because of attitudes like yours that Hashem is compelled to send us such nisyanos. Especially during this time of year, don’t you think you should work on your ahavas yisroel?
#9: In the American golus that is called free speech.
There is nothing worse for publicity seekers than to IGNORE THEM!!!
It is all well and good to say to ignore them, and theoretically that WOULD be best. BUT, we know that is NOT what will happen – not in Brooklyn! Yidden will get angry, VERY angry, – there will we shouting and cursing back and forth, maybe things will be thrown at them, maybe there will be fighting, BUT le’ma’aseh, they will NOT end up being ignored, they WILL get the press coverage they desire, and possibly there will be chilul Shabbas and possibly Jews will be hurt and/or arrested. SO – Dov Hikind and Police Department: This is NOT free speech, this is a provocation to violence! Do NOT allow this demonstration! Do not issue (or revoke) permits for it! AIZEH HU CHACHAM? hA’RO’EH ET HANOLAD!!! One need not be a chacham to know this will cause trouble for our community.
#6
“Isn’t East Midwood Jewish Center an anti-Torah, anti-Yiddishkeit center, that is Conservative?
maybe they need a reminder that they are Jewish?”
Beyond the pale. Please smack your chest long and hard for the remainder of slichos.
We don’t NEED Westboro Baptist Church to remind us to do teshuva when we have sinas chinam like this in our midst.
My father a”h had a line for this type of people. He compared them to dogs. “If you were walking past a fenced in dog and he started barking at you, would you get down on your hands and knees and bark back at him”? No further questions your honor….
The sad truth is we don’t have a gadol who can just say what should be done that everyone will just listen to. All these opinions will most likely remain just that and unfortunately people will just react how they feel at the moments provocation.
Oy lanu, uva letzion goel
Let the hate group bring their disgusting and obnoxious rethoric to the streets not to our precious shuls. Free speech is ok. except when speech turns into a vilifying weapon. Great Neck Rabbis please stop them from entering your Shuls.