{"id":463376,"date":"2026-05-27T22:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/463376\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:58:11","slug":"tens-of-thousands-expected-at-nycs-annual-israel-parade-mamdani-to-boycott-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/463376\/","title":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands expected at NYC’s annual Israel parade; Mamdani to boycott it"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Tens of thousands are expected to march in New York City\u2019s annual Israel parade on Sunday, although the march will not include one of its mainstay attendees \u2014 the city\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n

The parade, called Israel Day on Fifth, sees Jewish groups march up Manhattan\u2019s iconic Fifth Avenue. The event is a cornerstone of the area\u2019s Jewish community, drawing in participants from around the city and the region.<\/p>\n

City and state leaders are prominent attendees, and the city\u2019s mayor has joined the parade for decades. That changed with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a harsh critic of Israel who has identified as an anti-Zionist and took office in January.<\/p>\n

Mamdani is a longtime supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement targeting Israel, which bars<\/a> any \u201cnormalization\u201d with Israel.<\/p>\n

Last year, Mamdani said<\/a>, \u201cI will not be attending the Israel Day Parade,\u201d while adding, \u201cI believe in equal rights for all people \u2014 everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mamdani\u2019s refusal to participate highlights his break with mainstream Jewish groups, in tensions that have continued to climb<\/a> in recent weeks. The mainstream Jewish community had long enjoyed City Hall\u2019s support, while Mamdani\u2019s Jewish allies are to the left of the community\u2019s center.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer New York City mayor Eric Adams, center, attends the Israel Day on Fifth parade, June 2, 2024. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Different communities in New York City hold annual celebratory marches, and the Israel parade serves as the de facto annual celebration for the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

Mark Treyger, the head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the group that organizes the parade, said that, despite Mamdani\u2019s refusal to participate, his administration has been cooperative.<\/p>\n

City Hall is responsible for granting permits for parades. Treyger said that the Mamdani team, during its transition period, \u201cmade clear to us that they were going to grant permits for the parade and they saw no changes coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coordination with permits, the NYPD, and city agencies \u201chas all been working smoothly,\u201d Treyger said in an interview on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Mark Treyger, speaks at the Israel Day on Fifth march, in New York City, May 18, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overwhelming majority of people that come to the parade each year don\u2019t go because of politicians. They go out of love and pride for their community, their heritage and their connection and love for Israel,\u201d Treyger said. \u201cThis parade is bigger than any one politician, and that includes the mayor of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

He applauded the police department\u2019s security preparations, saying he had been in regular contact with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and that the police are \u201cleaving no stone unturned to ensure a safe and successful parade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Treyger did not have a specific estimate for attendance, but said the event was \u201cat capacity\u201d with tens of thousands expected to march alongside dozens of floats. Last year, organizers estimated<\/a> that 50,000 people attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re expecting one of the biggest crowds ever,\u201d Treyger said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge to even accommodate more of the volume, and I think it\u2019s a testament to the strength, the spirit and the resilience of the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIsrael Day on Fifth in New York City, May 18, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

The event \u201ccontinues to take on a deeper meaning for our community in the aftermath of October 7th,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to tensions with City Hall, the mainstream Jewish community is under pressure from factors including hate crimes<\/a>, caustic street protests, antisemitic graffiti<\/a> and anti-Zionist activity in universities<\/a> and communal institutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event marks the 50th anniversary of the JCRC of New York. The parade is also supported by the UJA-Federation of New York.<\/p>\n

Other New York leaders typically attend the parade, such as Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n

Treyger said politicians typically do not confirm their attendance until shortly before the event, but that Hochul, James, and city leaders such as City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Comptroller Mark Levine are expected to attend. Hochul and her team have been \u201cvery supportive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIsrael Day on 5th in New York City, May 18, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

The Israeli consulate in New York said 11 Knesset members will be attending, led by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.<\/p>\n

Parade organizers strive to keep the event apolitical, but the march tends to reflect Jewish communal concerns. In 2023, protesters on the sidelines of the parade, who were not marching in the event, heckled Israeli government representatives<\/a> over the Netanyahu coalition\u2019s judicial overhaul.<\/p>\n

The past two years saw participants advocating for the release<\/a> of the hostages in Gaza. At last year\u2019s event, former captives\u2019 and hostages\u2019 families formed the spiritual center of the march.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tHostage advocates during the Israel Day on Fifth parade in New York City, May 18, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Some Jews have questioned<\/a> the parade\u2019s focus on Israel, saying the framing politicizes the event and makes the march unnecessarily divisive.<\/p>\n

An activist group of leftist Israelis in the city said<\/a> it will protest against the visiting Israeli Knesset members.<\/p>\n

Marching groups tend to include Jewish nonprofits, non-Jewish allies, dancing troupes, identity groups such as Russian-speaking Jews, and thousands of children from Jewish day schools.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women\u2019s Empowerment Council are expected to attend this year, marking what appears to be the first time a Muslim group marches.<\/p>\n

An Asian-American group, including City Councilmember Susan Zhuang, is also expected to attend. Zhuang is a Chinese-American representative from Brooklyn and a supporter of Israel who attended rallies for the Israeli hostages in Gaza before their release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly very much appreciate allies and friends in this moment,\u201d Treyger said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme is \u201cProud Americans, Proud Zionists.\u201d The march begins on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Spectators who are not marching can access the parade route via several entrances on Madison Avenue, and those not able to attend can view the parade on a livestream<\/a>. Backpacks, large bags and some other items<\/a> are not allowed in spectator areas due to security concerns.<\/p>\n

The annual parade began in 1965 with an impromptu march by thousands of Zionist youth in support of Israel. JCRC-NY has managed the event since 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Tens of thousands are expected to march in New York City\u2019s annual Israel parade on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,5708,43],"class_list":["post-463376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-new-york-city","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}