Zohran Mamdani Skips New York’s Israel Day Parade, While Jessica Tisch Marches

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped Sunday’s Israel Day Parade in Manhattan, breaking with decades-long mayoral tradition for the annual march held every year since the 1960s.

Mamdani said at a news conference Thursday, "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," while promising a robust police presence to make sure it went off "seamlessly and peacefully."

ABC7 Eyewitness News

The parade drew thousands of people through the streets of Manhattan at noon, with participants waving Israeli flags and blue and white balloons, and some wearing shirts with the slogan "I love Israel."

The city police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, attended the parade and told reporters, "It is the mayor's decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly," standing alongside Mamdani at police headquarters on Thursday.

Israeli officials and politicians criticized Mamdani’s absence, with Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon accusing the mayor of turning "his back on tens of thousands of Jews and supporters of Israel" by not joining the march.

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett slammed the boycott as "cowardly," writing on X that Mamdani’s absence "sends a message" and saying leadership means showing up for all New Yorkers, including Jews.

Al-Jazeera Net

In contrast, the Forward framed the parade as a "shanda" but argued it was not because of Mamdani, saying his decision not to march was defensible because of the far-right Israeli ministers honored.

The Forward also quoted a critique of the broader political dispute, writing that "The growing disaffection of younger Jewish Americans from Israel is a direct consequence of the policies of Bibi Netanyahu" and the way the American Jewish establishment demanded loyalty.

The dispute over Mamdani’s boycott unfolded alongside claims about what the parade symbolizes, with the Al Jazeera report saying the decision sparked "a broad wave of criticism and attacks in Israeli and American circles."

Al Jazeera said the Israel Day Parade had become "a political platform" for top officials and American leaders who flock to Fifth Avenue to address thousands of participants celebrating the founding of Israel in 1948.

In the same coverage, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli diplomat and political adviser Gilad Katz said Mamdani’s absence carries symbolic meaning, noting that the Israel-supporting parade in New York is the largest of its kind in the world and that the mayor’s absence for the first time since 1964 reflects his protest of Israel and its war with Hamas.

The DW report also tied Mamdani’s decision to his stated positions, saying he has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and of systematically violating the rights of Palestinians, while the Israeli government rejects the accusations.