[Video below.] Assemblyman Dov Hikind broke through police barriers and physically confronted a small group of protesters carrying anti-Semitic signs in Brooklyn today. The seven protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas drew an angry reaction from several hundred frum Jews as they gathered in a small pen of police barricades outside Chabad of Kensington on Ocean Parkway in Midwood.
As one of the Christian protesters, Shirley Phelps-Roper, was talking to reporters, Hikind, burst through the barricade and tried to knock the signs out of her hands. He was restrained by police and moved away but then turned back to grab at the signs again before being escorted back to a counter-protest area, some 50 feet away.
Hikind was led away, but not arrested.
Phelps-Roper responded by calling Hikind a “criminal.”
A daughter of Westboro Pastor Fred Phelps, Phelps-Roper was wearing a shirt that read “The Jews Killed J-” and holding signs with slogans such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” She also wore a green headband that said “Destruction is Imminent.”
“When people come to the heart of the Jewish community with this kind of message, that we’re responsible for killing J-, that they hate Israel, that the Holocaust was something the Jews deserved, it’s important to be here,” said Hikind, the son of Holocaust survivors, at the protest before the Westboro group arrived.
Read more at The Jewish Week.
Click below for a video of today’s confrontation. Video by R’ Shimon Gifter:
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{The Jewish Week/Matzav.com}
Dov, ignore them. Es brent by em kanois! He is also a rabble rouser as they are and is just as desperate for attention as they are.
I think it was wrong of Dov Hikind to waste his time like that. Answering them just validates them. If you don’t ‘play ball’ with these people, they’re more likely to go away.
Kol haakavod to DOV HIKIND! I LOVE IT!!. Boruch Hashem we have someone who can stand up to these lunatics. Go, Dov, go.
dont blame dov its too hard too ignore, We all have a little kanoas in us
I don’t agree with Dov. Don’t give legit. None the less, his heart was in the right place. GO DOV GO !!!
Thank you Dov for speaking out.
mi kiamcha , baruch shekivanti, mamish gevaldig ,
UR GUYS R 100% RIGHT!!!
wow wow wow this happened near me by chaim berlin….
I think the best thing would have been to COMPLETELY ignore these people.
They want attention, and we helped them achieve their goal.
Imagine if these few losers would have been standing there protesting to nobody.
Why weren’t any other people demonstrating against them? It would seem that if a riot started these animals could be arrested for incitement. They played you people well; and you were all impotent to do anything.
Where were all the Charaydim who come out to demonstrate against the State of Israel when they don’t like something that is awry there?
When Goyim threaten them they become COWARDS.
What did dov achieve? That he made them feel worthwhile?
Had no-one showed up they’d feel stupid for trying
Y’ Mach Shemom these rashaim. May evil be erased from the world.
To all those that say we should ignore these lunatics, that’s whay they said about Hitler, “Just ignore him and he’ll go away.”
True it’s up setting and aggrivating -but these people also enjy freedom of seech. When elected officals take their bait – it cheapens their influence.
We tried ignoring Hitler and he did NOT disappear.
Sheldon, you call it cowardice, we like to refer to it as golus. Demonstration against anti-semitism is not the jewish way, we are bashful & proud of it. No, we dont turn the other cheek, we just ignore them.
yes is heart was in right place and we want anti semitism to be stopped. however i believe this is exactly what these people wanted us to react and in such a way where i believe below a jews standards. if we would ignore them they would go away, although anti semites at large maybe wont. now instead of news reporting nuts from baptist church its reportes jews stooping to their level. and we not them were violent. thinking heart maybe good place but behavior was degrading. we as jews need to remain on higher level
Congratulations to the reshaim of Westboro Baptist Church. They succeeded in getting Jews to act like fools. The behaviour of attention-mongers such as Hikind are beneath reproach. On this occasion he was joined by people who compromised their tzuras yehudi by holding up narischer signs and even signs containing nivul peh. All this on national TV!
So I must conclude by conceding that the meshugaim from down south won. Maybe next time we will be zoche to completely ignore them.
Yes, right – Ignore them just like you all ignored the arabs and all those mosques there. NOTHING is by accident. Wake up Brooklyn, et al. before the big earthquake hits (it will soon – I know this 100%). The shmutz has to be cleaned up NOW not swept under the carpet like it has always been. How many more accidents, fires, demonstrations, murders, etc. before you get the message?
Unfortunately such behavior is supported by the law. The notion being just because one has the right to say something there is NOTHING compelling a*n*y*o*n*e to listen.
Does that mean ignore them well yest sort of stand in front of these folks with your back to them-shun them. And truth be told while folks from all over sent copies of the Quoran to Florida no one is copying or supporingt these goofballs from Kanas.
Also I wonder if there had been a real live fight between the two groups who would the police arrest? The good people of Brooklyn goaded in to analtercation or these interlopers from the Mid-West?
Everything is ok. Just vote for Coumo. Vote against Hashem R”L!
This is one Christian that will NEVER blame the Jews for J-‘s death!
Everyone who reads scripture properly will know it wasnt the jews who killed J. Im not born a jew and even i know this. Christians can be so ignorant about scripture.
May Shalom fall upon Yisrael
To Eppis and to !,
EVIL Can Not be ignored. What you witnessed by these Christians is AMALEK. You have an obligation to fight and wipe out Amalek from your midst. HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED ANYTHING FROM HISTORY? Demonstration is the Jewish way. It is what got the Jews out of the former Soviet Union. Golus Means you have to be an OHR LaGoyim. You need to show that we don’t turn the other cheek. These people have a status of Rodef. It’s your Golus mentality that will always keep you in Golus.
Dov, go and open a safer. you’ll to oif more that way. You don’t have to give every shoiteh attention.