Borough Park, NY – They’re not in Kansas anymore.
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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 Saturday, the day before Yom Kippur, the most important religious holiday for Jews.
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 Temple 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.”
What is needed here is a strong dose of JDL, HaRav Meir Kahane Z’TL would never have stood for this and neither should we. Let the resounding call from this group be “Dorothy I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore”. These people should not be allowed to spew their venomnous hatred anywhere in NYC. Send them home with reminders they will never forget. Let us remember the words of the fallen Tzaddik “NEVER AGAIN”!
They are right !!! the world is coming to an end, and we better do Teshuva in order to be Zocha to greet Moshiach
We need to go out in force and stand up to these Cult crazy sickos. I think Misaskim should set up loud speakers at the locations and blast jewish music so they won’t here or see these guys.
Yemach shemom vezichrom, what world are we living in? They will be in boro park shabbos morning 14 & 52 at 8:30 am when all the yidden are going to shul to daven shabbos shiva. Is this reality? Is this america?
Reply to #1 : You might not have noticed, but it states they plan to come on shabbos!
We should ignore them. They are looking for attention
I’m not sure this is news; they have been demonstrating against Orthodox synagogues for months elsewhere in the US.
Their motto used to be “God Hates Fags”. I guess they decided to pick a more convenient target?
were is Temple Shomrei Emunah in Borough Park?
This explains the text message that has been circulating about Nazis coming to Boro Park on Shabbos and asking that we call the police department to ask them to stop this.
Rallies like these only incite and provoke hatred when people should be promoting tolerance and peace. We should make a minyon (of hundreds of people) with talleisim and just daven as loudly as ever, Lot more of us here than them and if we drown out what they say, maybe we can avoid the negative reaction that may come out of their speeches.
May our teffilos be accepted by H”BH and may we all be blessed with a peaceful and mazeldik year and Moshiach’s arrival.
the best answer is to ignore them and avoid a chlul hashem
Watch out for these guys!! They are making their rounds around the entire country.
They were in Cleveland Heights a few weeks ago with all types of signs like “Jews Eat Their Babies.” They picketed outside the frum shuls, on the main street, on Shabbos morning. Their was actually a pretty large Bar-Mitzvah taking place in one of the shuls they targeted.
There was heavy police presence at the protest which made them more noticeable to passer-byers. The police actually apologized to some of the frum people and were very sympathetic. They said explained that these people were attempting to anger the Jews enough that they would initiate a violent, physical response. Then the Jews would be arrested and they would be free. They have a “legal right” to exercise their freedom of speech . We have no right to fight back. The police presence was there so these idiots will not get their wish.
The police presence helped. Nobody said a single word to these nuts. Nobody. We just ignored them completely. After a very short while, when they realized that they were not accomplishing anything, they packed up and moved on.
Learn from our experience; Don’t fight them. Don’t “feed the cat.” Just let them do their thing, and ignore them. This will get them more angry and will make them go away and not come back!!
Does anybody remember the recipe for the fish smell liquid used in Jerusalem, if we can’t get physical with them, lets at least make them as uncomfortable as possible.
I never thought it could happen here………. Not on the shores of Lady Liberty.
When the boat came into the New York harbor, and you can faintly see the majestic outline of her standing proud and tall, this was home. This was the land where all our friends would die of old age, and not murdered while walking home from the Shabbos morning prayers . Now we were in a land that had laws preventing such acts. Now we were home…………..
Lets all make sure to be out there this Shabbos, and give those people from Topeka a real Borough Park welcome. Muchar Tipche Es Zeicher Amaleik!!
These people have a history of confrontation. They have demonstrated at the funerals of US servicemen killed in Iraq with signs “G-d hates the USA”. They look for confrontation, and sue those people who , rightly angered by their actions, give them what they deserve.
So far, the most effective approach to them has been found by motorcycle gangs, whose members deal with them anonymously.
o give me a break. cant we just ignore 10 freaks from kansas?
Inciting hatred should be a crime. There should be some means of preventing this through legal channels, and arrest those hate mongers when they assemble. They can certainly preach their filth in their own yard, but not in mine. Watch our current administration hide behind the right to free speech and assembly to support these disgusting morons.
Best strategy is to ignore them. Getting into a confrontation gives them legitimacy and its what they want.
They should NOT be permitted to parade their hate……it’s incitement to riot. This is tantamount to a blanket approval from our local officials for open hatred towards Jews. Our children do not deserve this potential scenario whether Shabbos or any day. That they have even been given a permit to protest demands retraction immediately……and strongly…..along with an apology from our esteemed politicians rather than just words.
Remember to never fight with them.
I heard that they try to incite people and get others to hit them so they can sue.
Do not touch them,
it may be best to ignore them so that they do not get the press attention they want.
“temple shomrei emunha” is that the one on 14th ave block away from shoimer shabbos?
If the JDL would still be active, these guys would have all 4 tires from their cars taken off still in Kansas a day before departure.
Let some of our elected officials contact the Patriot Riders chapters in the NYC area to be there.They have dealt with these mamzeirim when they demonstrate at the funerals of sevicemen and women KIA.
they are a small group the best thing is to pay no atention.i was told they need money so they want someone to hit them so they can sue.
why can’t we do what the rest of America has been doing the last few years and just laugh at their ridiculousness. Why do we take everything they say so seriously? Beside for themselves, they hate this whole country for all kinds of reasons, and we don’t see anyone else getting their hair in a bunch….
we need to place loud speakers all around and play jewish songs as loud as possible and trsut me they will be out of there as fast as they came its legal and annoying for them i hope somebody does it
Call Shomrim!!!
would these animals dare to protest in a black neighborhood ? of course not,
because they know very well,that they would not walk away alive.
is there a reason why a jewish neiborhood like boro-park with over 100,000 jews
and most of them holocaust survivors or children of survivors,should tolerate this filth?
have we no backbone or self respect ? by the tens of thousands we should confront these swines and give them 30 minutes to leave,and if they don’t,start breaking some skulls and bones.
Are they with the KKK?
NO!! This is the wrong way to go about it. If we give them the attention that they want, they will gain more national attention. Ignore their actions. They are a very small group and unless they pose imminent danger there is no need to react to their demonstrations.
sorrey i did not know this march is on shabbos
Sometimes they say .. IF YOU CANT FIGHT THEM – JOIN THEM !!
I think it would be a great idea to have 25 – 30 leitzem from the community going over to them greeting them & telling them we stand with you, your are 100% right etc. we would like to join you standing & protesting together & tell them that we would like to address 2-3 more issues against our community like the EIREV Etc. if we have a couple of creative chevre we can make a good chulent out of them…
They wouldn’t get away with this in an Italian, Irish, or Black area.
It would be better if you’d hire 3-4 African Americans 3 Mexicans 3 polish nationals pay them $50 an hour to stand there with your posters
Fred Phelps is a lawyer and his children are very well versed in the law. They MAKE THEIR MONEY by people assaulting them (they sue and then re-invest the money into the church). Don’t let yourself get sued. Make your opinion known clearly and let them know that they can’t push their filth & שמד in Boro Park — but don’t put yourself in a matzav of being able to get sued 🙂
One side of me tells me ignore these haters, but the other side says “Send them back to Kansas with broken noses” let this be a message to all Nazis and Skinheads, come to Brooklyn and it will cost you your nose. The problem is that these are not just a small group, Nazis and their likes are growing in America. We need to do more for Achdus and Ahavas Yisrael.
let’s unite all together, Satmer, bobov 45/48, chabad,belz, klosenburg, pupa, viznitz, lutvaks, sefardim, lets make sure that this is the last time they come to Brooklyn, they should leave in body casts, I want to see some broken bones, timcha es zeicher amuliek mitachas ha’shoo’mayim, I know America is a free country, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, but to come to our community and remind our elderly about post ww2 ? That’s hate, that’s not a freedom!!!!!!!
Let me see, they should walk into an African American community and protest why they aren’t slaves anymore, they would never get a permit to do that, why????????
Because the government knows that the African America community won’t let this pass by, why are we different? Because we’re SHETZELECH?????????
If a group of woman dressed provocative would come to our community we would stop it, guess what, WE GOT TO STOP THIS ANTI- SEMITS!!!!!
If they will succeed, we will have every 2nd week an anti-Semitic group coming to us
In the the most secular neighborhood in Israel, they would go out and take apart their bones, lets not be less than the frum community in Israel and not less than the secular community in Israel…
This isn’t Iran, our feelings isn’t less than any other community/ religion in NYC
If the government doesn’t understand why they shouldn’t allow such demonstration; they should understand what heat will come out of it…
Lets be mekadesh shem shamayim!!!!!!!!!!!!
they are in manhattan protesting at the Jewish Theologica Seminary right now!
on shabbos rosh hashana, they protersted at Rabbi Andy Bachman’s shul. in may they protested the holocaust museum and the funeral of the gaurd who was shot.
the last couple of years they have protested at reform, conservative and orthodox shuls throught the country
why is it only news that they suddewnly come to brooklyn?
As Dorothy said to Toto: “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” It’s time for Lazar and his crew to bike to Kansas and repay them in kind…an eye for an eye.
The difference between our community & the irish italian african american community is that we have 60 different opinions on HOW to react.. they don’t discuss and neither debate they just go out and ACT and do the right thing …
Ugh, these people just want publicity so its better not to give it to them. What sucks is they’re coming to my high school to protest. Also, from what i recall you aren’t supposed to hate anyone in any religion, and these so called “christians” are being haters. -.-
#54 is hilarious!
hate incitement IS a crime as far as I know.
a community protest would give them desperately needed attention but afew bucherim yelling after them wouldn’t hurt …
ill ignore them…after a few limbs of theirs have been broken…
reply to #74
incitement in itself might not but if it causes violence it is.
or mabey show them how a lulav can stick you,
Just a second — are these the wackos that were banned from the UK along with Michael Savage?
I remember a few years ago in Boro Park there was a big levaye for a chosheve yid. Suddenly, a couple of young shkutzim started clapping & cheering. Someone yelled “chaptzem!” and before you knew it, these shkutzim had an experience they’ll never forget. I believe we should give these chevra from Kansas that same experience.
it is sitra ahra wants to scare us and yes we must daven extra hard to defeat it
Hashem will make good seal for good in Yom Kippur and after or on Sukkot it may be good for the Jews and the World in general