There were fewer counter-protesters in Cobble Hill, but at times the exchanges between both sides grew more heated than they did in Park Slope.īut while some Brooklynites traded insults with the Kansans, others found the seven Westboro protesters - including two children - to be more depressing than infuriating.
She also sang a rendition of the Beatles song “Hey Jude” with the lyrics changed to “God hates Jews.” “The Holocaust is going to look like a tea party when God is done with you hard-hearted Jews!” Shirley Phelps-Roper shouted in front of the temple. “I hope this is only the beginning of our efforts to drive out hatred and bigotry,” he said.Ībout two hours after leaving Park Slope, the Westboro demonstrators staged a second protest in front of the Kane Street Synagogue in Cobble Hill, where they used many of the same signs, the same chants and the same tactics to advance their message. “As a native of Wisconsin, I must say that they are giving the Midwest a bad name,” said Bachman, who later directed Brooklynites to raise their thumbs to their noses and wiggle their fingers at the protesters.Īfter teasing the Westboro demonstrators, Bachman commended the Park Slope community for coming together en masse against the anti-gay, anti-Semitic group. The scores of counter-protesters mocked the fundamentalist group with homemade signs stating “Jesus had two dads” and “God hates cotton-polyester blends.” Others exchanged insults with the religious group and chanted: “Go home.”īut the most climactic moment came when Andy Bachman, the rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim, climbed the steps in front of his synagogue and blew the shofar - a ceremonial horn used to announce major events and often tooted around the Jewish New Year. Unsurprisingly, Park Slopers didn’t take kindly to Westboro’s message. That’s our duty,” said Megan Phelps-Roper, 23, from behind a police barricade. “We are not here to convince anyone - we are here to warn them. The Christian extremists told The Brooklyn Paper that they targeted these specific temples “because they are the largest Jewish organizations in the area” and that they didn’t intend to convert anyone to their cause.
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“We are not in a rage - we’re just full of zeal,” said Timothy Phelps, 44, of Topeka, whose group has made headlines for protesting the funerals of military personnel, claiming that the soldiers’ deaths were dishonorable because they fought to defend a country that allows homosexuals to openly enjoy their sexuality. Instead, the Westboro demonstrators focused their efforts on the Park Slope and Cobble Hill synagogues, where they added anti-Semitic lyrics to the Israeli national anthem and Jewish songs like “Hava Nagila” while waving signs stating “Jews stole the land,” “Israel is doomed,” “You will eat your babies,” and “Bitch burger” (which, inexplicably, depicted a fetus served on a bun).ĭespite their confrontational approach, controversial signage, and cruel language, the Kansans said they weren’t hateful.
“Stop raping the little boys and obey God!” she screamed at the crowd of more than 100 congregants, neighbors and protesters, as well as about a dozen police officers and members of the press at the corner Garfield Place.Īfter arriving in Brooklyn last week and protesting in front of Brooklyn Technical HS on Thursday, the group intended to rally in front of three synagogues on Saturday, but the bigots never made it to Union Temple in Prospect Heights. “No mercy for the merciless - and get rid of those beanies!” shouted Shirley Phelps-Roper, one of the five Christian extremists who rallied across the street from Beth Elohim. Though the events remained peaceful, members of the Westboro Baptist Church - a Kansas-based religious sect that regularly protests against Jews, gays, President Obama, fallen soldiers and just about everything else that Brooklynites know and love - tried as hard as they could to provoke passersby when they gathered in front Congregation Beth Elohim on Eighth Avenue in Park Slope and the Kane Street Synagogue in Cobble Hill in the midst of the Jewish high holy days. A handful of hateful Midwesterner’s brought their anti-Semitic and anti-gay message to two Brownstone Brooklyn synagogues on Saturday - where they were met with anger, condemnation, and some old-fashioned chutzpah.
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