Purim revelers waved groggers with the face of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad affixed during a reading of the megillah outside the Iranian United Nations Mission in midtown Manhattan.
The groggers, paddles with Ahmadinejad’s face surrounded by a red circle with a line drawn through it, were the brainchild of Elliot Auerbacher of Englewood, N.J., according to Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns, which called Ahmadinejad “Haman’s spiritual successor,” in a statement.
“In every generation there are those who have risen to try to overcome ‘Am Yisrael’, the People of Israel — but we have prevailed. As we prevailed over Haman, we will prevail over you, Ahmadinejad, and you will go down. ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ — the People of Israel live!” Amcha National President Rabbi Avi Weiss told the crowd following the reading.
The public Megillah reading, which drew about 100 participants, was sponsored by Americans for a Safe Israel, Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns, Z STREET, and the Jewish Political Education Foundation.
