Fringe Group to Picket Local Jewish Temples
Westboro Baptist Church will greet temple-goers as they celebrate an important Jewish holiday.
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The Westboro Baptist Church, a group best known for picketing military funerals, is planning to picket temples in Evanston and Skokie on Wednesday evening during Rosh Hashana eve services.
In a letter to the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Rabbi Brant Rosen said he does not know why the church will be protesting outside, but encouraged those attending the services to avoid engaging the group in any way.
"We regret that our members and guests will be greeted with a scene such as this, but it remains our desire to begin the High Holiday season in the spirit of dignity and celebration," Rosen wrote in the letter. "We believe that the most appropriate and dignified response is to simply enter the sanctuary and celebrate the New Year together as joyfully as we do every year."
Rosh Hashana is the Jewish new year, and is one of the most important Jewish holidays. The services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are often the most crowded ones of the year.
Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, KS, has been known to display signs reading "Thank God For Dead Soldiers," "Pray For More Dead Soldiers," and "God Hates Israel." It also runs the websites Godhatesfags.com and GodhatesAmerica.com.
The Anti-Defamation League considers the Westboro Baptist Church a hate group, and says on its website that the group has "targeted dozens of Jewish institutions around the country, from Israeli consulates to synagogues to Jewish community centers, distributing anti-Semitic fliers to announce planned protests at these sites."
The group will also picket Wednesday in front of high holiday services at Northwestern University Hillel in Evanston as well as Temple Beth Israel and the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, both in Skokie. Its members will continue to picket throughout Skokie the following day.
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Carmen L Mercado
2:18 pm on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Why is this group allowed to boycott in front of Religious Buildings? Arrest them all!! They have NO RIGHT!!
Jonathan Shimberg
4:14 pm on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
They have every right. That is one of the benefits of living in this country. A mosque can be built, demonstrators can demonstate. I will be in Temple Beth Israel feeling sorry for such misguided people.
Jim Hastings
9:05 am on Thursday, September 9, 2010
Jim Hastings
Amazing that they would protest after leaving the museum. How could they go there and not
respond with love for the Jewish people who have suffered so much? Perhaps a time of true
repentance is called for.
Mark C.
5:41 pm on Thursday, September 9, 2010
I took the opportunity to speak with these people at length today. The young woman talked to me as if she was repeating a by-rote hate speech which was punctuated by the words "love" and "God". When my son reminded her that she said "God teaches us to love thy neighbor" she replied that his version of love is all wrong and hers is the only correct version. Interesting.... The older man told me that he joined the Westboro Baptist Church after being hospitalized for an extended period of time. It was then that he "realized how God "hated" just about everyone. From that point he degenerated completely, telling me that I was an "animal which would never understand God" He told me that I should "look in a mirror" because people like me (I assume he meant Black) are a big part of the problem...that I was an "abomination, a beast and a brute who could never understand God and should and will be destroyed." OK..... The one thing I found the most disheartening is that there was an 8 or 9 year old boy with them, constantly playing his GameBoy while leaning on his sign which read: "U.S.A. Sine = 9-11". I am sure he is being carefully taught their way of thinking.......
Pat Pint
10:21 pm on Thursday, September 9, 2010
I did not have the misfortune of seeing any of these people yesterday last night when I was standing with a group of Evanston high school students. I hope that my neighbors had no problems after services as there were none before.
Maria Toth
10:38 pm on Thursday, September 9, 2010
i'm disappointed that no one covered the peaceful counter-protest that district 219 students (from niles west and niles north) held in front of niles west high school today -- where the WBC people were protesting. due to the rosh hashanah holiday, there was no school scheduled today, but the kids (over 100 strong) came out early and did a wonderful job with their hand-made signs, singing peaceful songs and getting drivers going down oakton street engaged in what was happening. i was proud that students from my community cared enough about an issue (and were angered that the WBC targeted their school as a place to protest) to come out and hold a peaceful event. bravo!
Pat Pint
10:03 am on Friday, September 10, 2010
I'm proud of all of the students in both the District 202 and District 219 districts who organized peaceful counter protests Wednesday and yesterday. Bravo to them, and blessings to the parents and teachers who instilled the values of standing up against injustice , and standing up peacefully .