Westboro Baptist Protest Raises $10K For Gay NYC Synagogue

And again, the Westboro nutters prove their value to the LGBT movement.

A Manhattan synagogue turned a visit from hate-spewing demonstrators into a lucrative fund-raiser Sunday. Leaders of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, a West Village synagogue that caters to gays and lesbians, didn't want to ignore a planned visit by members of the rabidly anti-gay and anti-Semitic Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Instead, they asked supporters to pledge a dollar or more for every minute that six protesters stood near their synagogue hurling epithets and holding signs that read "God Hates Fags" and "Jews Stole the Land." The final haul after 50 minutes: $10,000. "Their very presence will actually raise money for the mission of this community," said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of the synagogue, which now holds services in rented space. "The synagogue wants a building so we're hoping this will help us get a building."

NY1 has great video of the protest and counter-protest.