(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being criticized for his decision not to participate in an annual Manhattan parade celebrating Israel, with one state lawmaker calling the move an “insult” to the city’s Jewish community.
The Israel Day on Fifth, which is scheduled for May 31, is an annual march along Fifth Avenue from 62nd to 74th streets to celebrate Israel that draws tens of thousands of participants and spectators. This year’s theme is “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists,” according to event organizers.
Mamdani’s decision to sit out the event breaks with tradition from previous New York mayors, including his predecessor Eric Adams, who attended last year’s Israel Day on Fifth parade with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other top New York Democrats.
Assemblyman Michael Novakhov, a Brooklyn Republican, criticized Mamdani’s decision not to attend as “a disgraceful insult to New York’s Jewish community.”
“For decades, elected officials from both parties understood the importance of standing with New York’s Jewish community at the Israel Day Parade,” he said in a statement. “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 the recent anti-Israel protests outside synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods across New York City, where protesters have waved Hamas and Hezbollah flags, harassed Jewish residents, and clashed with police.
“Instead of condemning the antisemitic chaos we are seeing in our streets, Mamdani and the Democrats have chosen to side with and empower the Jew hating mob of terrorist supporters responsible for it. Jewish New Yorkers are watching,” he said.
Mamdani, who was sworn into office in January as the city’s first Muslim mayor, has been admonished by Jewish groups over his alignment with pro-Palestinian groups, criticism of the Israeli government, and his use of the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which has been linked to acts of violence against Jewish people.
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League has pointed to Mamdani’s support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel and past rhetoric about Israel. The group has launched a “Mamdani Monitor” to keep a check on his new administration.
To be sure, Mamdani had previously announced that he wouldn’t be attending the parade, but has said his decision should be viewed as a boycott. He has also pledged to provide NYPD security at the event.
“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,” Mamdani said in an October interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I’ve been very clear: I believe in equal rights for all people — everywhere. That principle guides me consistently.”
