Facing hatred

If you’ve always wondered whether you’d have been able to restrain yourself when neo-Nazis made their infamous 1981 march through Skokie, Ill., which was home to many Holocaust survivors, perhaps you should turn out tomorrow when members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topekan Fred Phelps come to our town to protest at a synagogue. (See related story)

The equanimity of any normal person is tested when confronted with this obstreperous band of haters.

Of course, no one should physically attack the members of the Phelps clan. They have the First Amendment right to be just as mean, nasty and self-righteous as they want to be. Like the Nazis in Skokie, the WBC cultists present believers in freedom with a dilemma: Suffer their abuse (they hold grudges and have harassed certain individuals and institutions for years on end) or violate their rights.

The Phelpses’ outrageous conduct — mainly picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers — has led to the passage of many state and federal laws that attempt to restrict their rights to protest, often unsuccessfully.

The best way local Jews can react is to show up Saturday, peacefully display our distaste for the protest and then attend Shabbat services, where a loving and merciful God will be extolled.

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