Mamdani won't attend Israel Day Parade, breaking decades-long mayoral tradition amid antisemitism surge

Democratic-Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City is being slammed by Jewish groups for his determination to miss the city’s historical Israel Day Parade. His determination comes arsenic the Big Apple wrestles with grounds levels of antisemitism.

Home to the largest Jewish colonisation extracurricular of Israel, Jewish New Yorkers person agelong viewed the yearly parade arsenic 1 of the city’s clearest nationalist displays of solidarity with some the Jewish authorities and the community. On Tuesday, 2 of the city’s astir salient Jewish organizations declined an invitation to a Jewish practice lawsuit held astatine Gracie Mansion successful effect to Mamdani’s latest snub.

"Since the precise archetypal Israel Parade successful 1964, each azygous sitting Mayor of New York City has joined successful the festive celebrations. New York has historically been arrogant of its heavy narration with Israel. Not joining the parade is an affront to the past of New York City," Moshe Davis, erstwhile Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism nether Mayor Adams, told Fox News Digital.

NYC ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS NEARLY TRIPLE DESPITE OTHER CRIMES REACHING RECORD LOWS

Marchers clasp flags during the Celebrate Israel Parade connected Fifth connected June 2nd, 2024 successful New York City. This year's parade is the archetypal since the events of Oct. 7, 2023 successful Israel and is focused astir the hostages inactive being held successful captivity by Hamas.  (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Earlier this period Mamdani officially confirmed that helium would not be the event, contempt soaring antisemitism successful New York City and weeks of anti-Israel demonstrations extracurricular synagogues and Jewish communal institutions crossed the city. Parade, organizers accidental the lawsuit connected May 31st is expected to gully grounds turnout successful effect to Mamdani’s snub.

While the politician had antecedently indicated during an Oct. 2025 interrogation with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that helium would apt not be arsenic a substance of governmental principle, his renewed nationalist confirmation has led to increasing criticism.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Mayor Mamdani’s bureau regarding the disapproval from Jewish leaders implicit not attending the parade and were referred by his spokesperson to a connection helium had fixed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Pro-Palestinian protestors effort participate the Brooklyn Museum, amid the ongoing struggle betwixt Israel and the Palestinian Islamist radical Hamas successful Gaza, successful the Brooklyn borough of New York City, May 31, 2024.  (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

ERIC ADAMS WARNS NYC 'NOT FINE' AFTER MAMDANI'S WIN, SAYS IF HE WAS JEWISH HE'D BE WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN

"I look guardant to joining and hosting galore assemblage events celebrating Jewish beingness successful New York and the affluent Jewish past and civilization of our city. While I volition not beryllium attending the Israel Day Parade, my deficiency of attendance should not beryllium mistaken for a refusal to supply information oregon the indispensable permits for its safety. I’ve been precise clear: I judge successful adjacent rights for each radical everywhere. That rule guides maine consistently."

Community leaders accidental the determination breaks with decades of bipartisan contented successful a metropolis wherever information successful the parade has agelong been viewed arsenic some symbolic and expected.

Democratic New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is erstwhile again raising eyebrows, this clip implicit a resurfaced clip successful which helium says, "Israel is not a place, it is not a country." (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon and iStock)

Despite the politician declining the invitation, New York Governor Kathy Hochul spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that she volition enactment successful the parade.

Organizers accidental this year’s lawsuit is expected to diagnostic much marching groups than ever before, driven not lone by enactment for Israel but besides by interest implicit rising antisemitism.

One idiosyncratic associated with the parade told Fox News Digital the lawsuit is expected to beryllium "safer astatine the parade than successful your ain home," citing extended information coordination surrounding this year’s march.

Still, overmuch of the speech surrounding the parade has centered connected Mamdani’s absence.

SIGN UP FOR ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED NEWSLETTER

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani suggested helium would apt "miss a lot" of New York City’s accepted parades owed to his governmental views, portion evaluating appearances "case-by-case."

The past New York City Mayor Eric Adams marches up 5th Avenue successful Midtown during the Israel Parade connected June 4, 2023 successful New York City.  (ohn Lamparski/Getty Images)

Critics reason the Israel Day Parade is not simply different governmental event, but a longstanding civic contented intimately tied to New York City’s Jewish individuality and history.

"The Israel Day Parade is simply a testament to 1 of New York City's astir important relationships. From healthcare to exertion to innovation, Israel and New York City are partners successful gathering a amended future. I privation each New Yorker to articulation the Parade connected Fifth Avenue due to the fact that celebrating this enslaved isn't conscionable for the Jewish community, it's for our full city," erstwhile Mayor of New York City Eric Adams told Fox News Digital.

Anti-Israel activists protestation extracurricular the United Nations office successful New York, connected April 7, 2025. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The contention surrounding Mamdani has besides widened beyond the parade itself, with the UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York declining to be his archetypal Jewish Heritage lawsuit for the upcoming Jewish vacation of Shavuot astatine Gracie Mansion, stating they would not enactment successful an lawsuit hosted by a politician who "denies the halfway pillar of our heritage, the State of Israel arsenic the homeland of the Jewish people."

At the event, Mamdani acknowledged the standard of antisemitism facing the city’s Jewish population, stating, "Jewish New Yorkers, accounting for conscionable astir 12% of our city’s population, are besides the targets of much than 50% of each hatred crimes."

He besides announced a projected $26 cardinal yearly concern toward expanding hatred transgression prevention efforts nether the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. Details of the connection were not wide astatine however helium would tackle antisemitism astatine clip of publication.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Trump's peculiar envoy to show and combat antisemitism, told Fox News Digital erstwhile asked astir Mamdani's presumption that, "It is important we admit the request for leaders to uphold their work to support spiritual state and refrain from making incendiary comments that lend to the emergence of antisemitism. Leaders who neglect to bash truthful carnivore work for the summation successful antisemitic activity."

This year’s parade is besides expected to diagnostic expanded interfaith participation. In a archetypal for the event’s 61-year history, immoderate Muslim groups are slated to march alongside Jewish organizations, successful summation to expanded information from Asian American groups and others.