NYC Mayor Mamdani Refuses to Attend Israel Day Parade

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will not attend the Israel Day Parade on May 3, becoming the first New York City mayor in decades to skip the event and drawing fierce condemnation from Jewish leaders across the city.

The annual Israel Day on Fifth parade is billed as the largest pro-Israel gathering in the world, featuring over 40,000 marchers including American and Israeli community leaders, dignitaries, and entertainers. For decades, showing up hasn't been controversial, it's been expected. Every New York City mayor from both parties, including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and Bill de Blasio, attended. The tradition stretches back to the 1960s.

Mamdani has not described his decision as a boycott. "While I will not be attending the Israel Day Parade, my lack of attendance should not be mistaken for a refusal to provide security or the necessary permits for its safety," he said. "I've been very clear: I believe in equal rights for all people, everywhere."

Jewish leaders are not buying it.

"A Disgraceful Insult"

Brooklyn Republican Assemblyman Michael Novakhov called it "a disgraceful insult to New York's Jewish community," saying: "Zohran Mamdani is choosing to boycott this event because he is more interested in appeasing radical antisemitic extremists than standing with Jewish New Yorkers."

Novakhov pointed to recent anti-Israel protests outside synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods across the city, where protesters waved Hamas and Hezbollah flags, harassed Jewish residents, and clashed with police.

The snub comes after Mamdani posted a Nakba Day video on the eve of Shabbat last week presenting a Palestinian narrative of Israel's 1948 War of Independence — a move that further inflamed tensions with the Jewish community. The UJA-Federation of New York subsequently announced it would not attend Mamdani's Jewish American Heritage Month celebration at Gracie Mansion, saying: "We will not be attending the Jewish American Heritage Month celebration at Gracie Mansion being hosted by a mayor who denies a core pillar of our heritage, the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people."

Jewish Community Relations Council CEO Mark Treyger, who organizes the Israel Day Parade, also declined to attend the Gracie Mansion event, citing the Nakba video.

A Pattern, Not a Surprise

Mamdani, sworn in as the city's first Muslim mayor in January, has been admonished by Jewish groups over his alignment with pro-Palestinian organizations, his criticism of the Israeli government, and his past use of the phrase "globalize the intifada," which many Jewish New Yorkers regard as a call to violence. The ADL has launched a "Mamdani Monitor" to track his administration.

Mamdani supports the BDS movement against Israel and does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. A resurfaced clip from 2021 shows him leading "BDS, BDS!" chants at a rally outside the Israeli Consulate in Manhattan, at that very parade's location.

Despite the boycott, the parade's organizers say the backlash has only energized supporters. The Knesset is expected to send its largest-ever delegation to this year's event. The theme: Proud Americans - Proud Zionists.