NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to skip Sunday’s Israel Day parade, ending a political tradition that has spanned decades due to his advocacy for Palestinian rights.
The annual celebration honoring Israel has historically drawn mayors, governors and other elected officials who march alongside thousands of participants waving flags along Fifth Avenue to commemorate the Jewish state’s founding in 1948.
Mamdani’s absence comes two weeks after his administration released a video recognizing the Nakba, which translates to “catastrophe” in Arabic and refers to the forced relocation of approximately 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict that occurred after Israel’s creation.
“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” Mamdani stated during Thursday’s press briefing.
Despite his absence, the mayor assured extensive law enforcement coverage to ensure the event proceeds “seamlessly and peacefully.”
“While I will not be attending, our administration has been preparing for weeks to ensure the parade is safe for all those who take part,” he explained.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, announced her intention to participate in the parade.
“It is the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly,” she declared while standing next to Mamdani at police headquarters.
The mayor’s anticipated absence has intensified criticism from opponents who characterize his stance against the Israeli government as antisemitic.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, founding senior rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue on Long Island and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which promotes Jewish-Muslim relations, described Mamdani’s parade boycott as “a slap in the face to all Jewish New Yorkers.”
“Do us a favor, stay home,” he declared. “We don’t need you. We don’t want you.”
Schneier also criticized Mamdani’s Nakba video as “propaganda,” joining other Jewish community leaders who argued it lacked important context regarding Jewish displacement during that era.
The video, marking what appears to be the first official Nakba acknowledgment by a sitting New York City mayor, told the story of a woman displaced at age 9, combined with explanatory text about the Nakba. She spoke about longing for home, saying “it’s the soft hills of Palestine that actually touched me.”
“I’ve lived in different places, and I’ve always been an outsider,” the woman, Inea Bushnaq, shared.
Pro-Israel advocates expressed anger, arguing the video should have recognized the widespread displacement of Jews from Muslim-majority nations or acknowledged how the Holocaust’s mass murder of Jews influenced the movement to create a Jewish homeland.
New York City mayors, leading America’s largest Jewish community, have traditionally demonstrated strong support for Israel, frequently making official visits to the country.
However, American support for Israel has significantly declined in recent years, a shift that has accelerated following widespread criticism of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, has maintained his pro-Palestinian position throughout his tenure.
He has expressed belief in Israel’s right to exist while opposing what he views as a system that privileges Jewish citizens. At the same time, he has committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers and promoted the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.
