Pro-Israel New Yorkers gathered on Sunday for the annual Israel Day Parade, a celebration of the Jewish state, but for the first time in recent memory the mayor of New York City did not join them.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided not to participate, citing his longtime opposition to the Israeli government. Parade organizers said they believed he was the first mayor to skip the parade since its start in 1964.
Many other elected officials marched in Manhattan on Sunday, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner.
Ms. Hochul said at a news conference as the parade started that the group was marching “in defiance.”
“When you go to worship with your families, you should not have to endure harassment, intimidation or hatred from anyone,” she said. “We’re going to stand up to make sure that you’re protected.”
The Israel Day Parade has been a staple of New York’s political calendar for decades, and elected officials and political candidates have often viewed it as an important way to signal support for Israel and solidarity with Jewish New Yorkers.
Mr. Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, has long been a critic of Israel. He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and threatened to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, if he visited New York City.
“I said on the campaign trail I would not be attending the parade, and I have made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” Mr. Mamdani said at a news conference last week focused on security preparations for the parade.
Standing by his side, Ms. Tisch indicated that she would march as a representative of his administration. She and Mr. Mamdani said security for the annual event would be tighter than ever.
“As the mayor of our city, I take seriously my responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of every New Yorker and every event, regardless of my attendance,” the mayor said.
Ms. Tisch, who is Jewish and has been a longtime supporter of Israel, described the parade as “one of the most joyful days of the year.”
She added: “It is the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly.”
At least two former mayors attended the parade: Michael R. Bloomberg, who is Jewish and marched with Ms. Tisch, and Eric Adams, a supporter of Israel who appeared with Amir Ohana, the speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, also marched, according to a spokesman from his Religious Zionist Party. He was not on the official list of attendees that the Israeli consulate sent to The New York Times before the parade.
Thousands of people attended the parade. There was a heavy police presence, and attendees were screened for weapons to enter a secured area along the route.
“Since I crossed Fifth Avenue, I feel very safe,” said Cheryl Kempner, 61, who drove about an hour from New Jersey to attend her first Israel Day parade.
“But I’ve got to tell you: When I come here on a normal day I don’t feel safe,” said Ms. Kempner, who normally tucks her Star of David pendant under her collar whenever she’s in the city.
Ms. Kempner, who said she was the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, said she felt she had to come to the parade amid a rise in antisemitic attacks.
“We have to be here,” she said. “If we don’t speak up for ourselves, who’s going to speak up for us?”
Some other elected officials joined Mr. Mamdani in skipping the event. So did several progressive groups, including Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and Israelis For Peace.
Two Jewish candidates running for Congress in a closely watched Democratic primary for a Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn district each made different choices. Brad Lander, a critic of Israel and an ally of Mr. Mamdani’s, did not attend the parade and instead canvassed with a progressive Jewish group. Representative Dan Goldman, the incumbent, marched in the parade.
The atmosphere surrounding the parade has become more complicated in the years since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which led to a yearslong series of wars across the Middle East, including in Gaza, where fighting has killed more than 70,000 people and destroyed the economy and civilian infrastructure. Israel has also launched offensives in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere.
The civilian toll of those conflicts has led to a rapid deterioration of public support for Israel in the United States, with 60 percent of Americans and 80 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now expressing a negative view of the country, according to the Pew Research Center.
That deepening negativity has also been driven by the findings of a United Nations commission and Israeli and international human rights groups that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly rejected those claims, as have many of its supporters in the United States.
A small group of about a dozen demonstrators gathered quietly along the parade route near East 66th Street, some holding signs criticizing the Israeli government or advocating “a shared Israeli-Palestinian future.” But major pro-Palestinian groups that have organized previous antiwar protests were not present, and the parade went on without disruption.
The parade, which embraced the theme “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists,” took place this year against a nationwide backdrop of rising antisemitism, including a number of events in New York that have left the city’s Jewish community on edge. In response to those concerns, Ms. Tisch said the city had enacted its most comprehensive security plans ever for the event.
Rebeccah Rivera, 18, a recent graduate of a Bronx high school, said she experienced antisemitism after posting on social media about her Jewish heritage after the Oct. 7 attacks. She held a small Israeli flag at the parade.
“I just feel like there aren’t a lot of people that I can get along with, so being here, seeing everybody that is Jewish, it’s amazing,” she said.
Some Jewish leaders were disappointed by Mr. Mamdani’s absence. Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, which has been sharply critical of Mr. Mamdani since before he was elected, said the mayor had chosen to “turn his back on the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel.”
Mr. Greenblatt said the parade was “a celebration of Jewish identity, pride and community” and not the Israeli government.
Many elected officials attended the march, including Chuck Schumer, the U.S. senator; Letitia James, the state attorney general; and Julie Menin, the City Council speaker. Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, criticized Mr. Mamdani for not attending.
Ms. Menin, who is Jewish, said the march was not “in favor of the government — we’re marching in favor of Jewish pride and Jewish identity.”
“I just don’t think a parade should be synonymous with the Israeli government, because it’s not.”
Sally Goldenberg, Eryn Davis and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.
Liam Stack is a Times reporter who covers the culture and politics of the New York City region.
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