NYC Mayor Mamdani skips annual Israel Day parade, breaking decades-long political custom

Updated - July 22, 2026 12:32 pm IST - NEW YORK

AP

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not attend an annual parade honouring Israel on Sunday (May 31, 2026), breaking with a decades-long political custom because of his support of Palestinian rights.

Though it has gone by different names over the years, the Israel Day parade has traditionally been a must-attend event for mayors, governors, and other political leaders eager to win over the crowds of flag-waving revellers who gather on Fifth Avenue to celebrate the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.

Not so for Mr. Mamdani. Two weeks ago, the Mayor's office released a video commemorating the Nakba — an Arabic word for "catastrophe" used to describe the displacement of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel's establishment.

Mayor's Statement

"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," Mr. Mamdani said at a news conference Thursday (May 28, 2026).

He also promised a robust police presence to ensure the event went off "seamlessly and peacefully."

Police Commissioner Attends

The city's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, did attend the parade.

"It is the mayor's decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly," she said Thursday (May 28, 2026), standing alongside Mr. Mamdani at police headquarters.

Criticism and Reactions

The Mayor's absence, though long expected, has given fresh fuel to opponents who view his criticism of the Israeli government as antisemitic.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, founding senior rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue on Long Island and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, called Mr. Mamdani's decision "a slap in the face to all Jewish New Yorkers."

"Do us a favor, stay home," he said. "We don't need you. We don't want you."

Mr. Schneier also slammed Mr. Mamdani's Nakba video as "propaganda," echoing concerns from other Jewish leaders who said it excluded context about Jewish peoples' displacement during the period.

The Nakba Video

The video — believed to be the first such recognition from a sitting New York City Mayor — featured the story of a woman who was displaced at nine years old, interspersed with text about the Nakba. She described a feeling of missing home, saying "it's the soft hills of Palestine that actually touched me."

"I've lived in different places, and I've always been an outsider," said the woman, Inea Bushnaq.

Supporters of Israel expressed outrage, arguing the video should have acknowledged the mass displacement of Jews from Muslim-majority countries or the role that the Holocaust played in the drive to establish a Jewish state.

Broader Context

Mayors in New York City — which has America's largest Jewish population — have long been visible supporters of Israel, often visiting the country.

Support for Israel among Americans has deeply eroded in recent years, a trend that accelerated amid outcry over Israeli military action in Gaza.