[HANASHIR:1491] Re: one more wrinkle

[LPKAROL <LPKAROL...>]

Dear Hava nashira friends,
     Fred Phelps picketing Matthew Shepard's funeral?  I'm not surprised -
because I have to deal with him every single day of the year in my city.  I am
the rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kansas.  We get picketed every
Shabbat before our services - but they can't get too close, because the
entrance to our drive into Temple is 200 feet from the building.  
    Still, I haven't appreciated having my name on one of their signs (FAG
Karol), or seeing our congregation referred to as "Temple Beth Sodom" with a
yellow star on the sign, and being referred to once in a while in the Phelps'
church's weekley fax flyer.  
    There is little to do to stop this fanatical family - they are all lawyers
and unfortunately bright and they know the laws inside and out.  Still, I feel
less isolated when I know that others know about Fred.  His family is anti-
gay, racist and anti-semitic.  Don't think they are a one issue group of
picketers!
    May God keep them far away from us!
Rabbi Larry Karol
Topeka, Kansas