NEW YORK (JTA) — The New York Post said it was rebuffed in its attempt to hand-deliver a basket with Jewish-themed gifts to the New York hotel room of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A Post reporter and photographer attempted to deliver the goods on Saturday night to the Warwick Hotel in Manhattan, where Ahmadinejad had checked in on Sept. 19. The Iranian leader is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
In response to seeing the gag gift, the Post claimed that an Iranian official at the hotel exclaimed, “You’re going to endanger my life!” at which point a U.S. Secret Service agent turned away the delivery.
Among the goodies included in the basket were Jewish food items such as Gold’s borscht, Manischewitz gefilte fish, Murray’s Sturgeon Shop whitefish and Zabar’s cream cheese. The basket also included a free ticket to the off-Broadway show “Old Jews Telling Jokes” and a brochure for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, which focuses heavily on the Holocaust. Ahmadinjad has publicly denied that the Holocaust took place.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, which coincides with the solemn Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
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