"Westboro Baptist Church"
David Schenirer respects the decision by local Jewish leaders – including his father – to ignoreWestboro Baptist Church, the anti-gay and anti-Semitic group scheduled to picket in Sacramentotoday. But Schenirer said that's something he can't do.Schenirer, a McClatchy High School senior, has organized a tolerance day at the school, one of several locations the controversial religious group – known for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers – is scheduled to demonstrate today and Saturday.
"These people say hateful stuff, awful things," said Schenirer. "Instead of ignoring them, I think this is an opportunity to teach people about tolerance."
Schenirer's father, Jay Schenirer, is president ofSacramento's Congregation B'nai Israel. He has urged members not to counterprotest, but supports his son. "I just want to make sure everything is peaceful."
For the past week, local religious and civic leaders have discussed and debated how to respond to the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Members of the splinter fundamentalist group intend to demonstrate at 10 sites in theSacramento region today and Saturday, according to the church's Web site.
Many local leaders believe the best way to respond to the group is to refuse to give them what they want: attention.
"Their purpose is to be provocative and engage people," said Michal Kohane, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramentoregion. "We're not participating. We're not engaging them."
Members of Westboro Baptist Church travel the country spreading their message of hate, said Mark Potok spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., a civil rights organization that tracks hate groups. "They specialize in public outrage."
