Pro-Israel New Yorkers gathered on Sunday for the annual Israel Day Parade, a celebration of the Jewish state, but for the first time in recent memory the mayor of New York City would not be joining them.<\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided not to participate in the event<\/a>, citing his longtime opposition to the Israeli government<\/a>. Parade organizers said they believed he was the first mayor to skip the parade, but said they did not have complete attendance records dating back to its start in 1964.<\/p>\n Many other elected officials marched in Manhattan on Sunday, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner.<\/p>\n Ms. Hochul said at a news conference as the parade started that the group was marching \u201cin defiance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you go to worship with your families, you should not have to endure harassment, intimidation or hatred from anyone,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to stand up to make sure that you\u2019re protected.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israel Day Parade has been a staple of New York\u2019s political calendar for decades, and elected officials and political candidates have often viewed it as an easy way to signal support for Israel and solidarity with Jewish New Yorkers.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani, the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor, has long been a critic of Israel. He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and threatened to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, the Israeli prime minister, if he visited New York City.<\/p>\n \u201cI said on the campaign trail I would not be attending the parade, and I have made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,\u201d Mr. Mamdani said at a news conference last week focused on security preparations for the parade.<\/p>\n Standing by his side, Ms. Tisch indicated that she would march as a representative of his administration. She and Mr. Mamdani said security for the annual event would be tighter than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the mayor of our city, I take seriously my responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of every New Yorker and every event, regardless of my attendance,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n Ms. Tisch, who is Jewish and has been a longtime supporter of Israel, described the parade as \u201cone of the most joyful days of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cIt is the mayor\u2019s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly.\u201d<\/p>\n Thousands of people arrived to see the parade on Sunday. Security was tight, and there was a heavy police presence. Attendees were screened for guns, explosive devices and other weapons before entering a secured area.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I crossed Fifth Avenue, I feel very safe,\u201d said Cheryl Kempner, 61, who drove about an hour from New Jersey to attend her first Israel Day parade.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve got to tell you: When I come here on a normal day I don\u2019t feel safe,\u201d said Ms. Kempner, who normally tucks her Star of David pendant under her collar whenever she\u2019s in the city.<\/p>\n Ms. Kempner, who said she was the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, said she felt she had to come to the parade amid a rise in antisemitic attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be here,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t speak up for ourselves, who\u2019s going to speak up for us?\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani\u2019s predecessor, Eric Adams, marched in the parade as mayor and planned to do so again on Sunday as a private citizen. Some other left-leaning elected officials joined Mr. Mamdani in not attending the event.<\/p>\n The atmosphere surrounding the parade has become more complicated in the years since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which led to a yearslong series of wars across the Middle East, including in Gaza, where fighting has killed more than 70,000 people and destroyed the economy and civilian infrastructure. Israel has also launched offensives in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere.<\/p>\n The civilian toll of those conflicts has led to a rapid deterioration of public support for Israel in the United States, with 60 percent of Americans and 80 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now expressing a negative view of the country, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n That deepening negativity has also been driven by the findings of a United Nations commission and Israeli and international human rights groups that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly rejected those claims, as have many of its supporters in the United States.<\/p>\n The parade is taking place this year against a nationwide backdrop of rising antisemitism, including a number of events in New York that have left the city\u2019s Jewish community on edge. In response to those concerns, Ms. Tisch said the city had enacted its most comprehensive security plans ever for the event.<\/p>\n There will be an increased police presence along the parade route, which stretches down Fifth Avenue from 74th Street to 62nd Street, involving plainclothes officers, checkpoints and road closures, Ms. Tisch said.<\/p>\n Parade-watchers were not permitted to gather on the west side of the route, abutting Central Park, to ensure that all spectators enter through designated screening points.<\/p>\n Rebeccah Rivera, 18, a recent graduate of a Bronx high school, said she experienced antisemitism from her peers after posting on social media about her Jewish heritage after the Oct. 7 attacks. She held a small Israeli flag.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel like there aren\u2019t a lot of people that I can get along with, so being here, seeing everybody that is Jewish, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mark Treyger, the chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the parade, said the theme of this year\u2019s event was \u201cProud Americans, Proud Zionists.\u201d He declined to share his feelings on Mr. Mamdani\u2019s decision not to attend.<\/p>\n \u201cMy focus and my main concern is about those who are showing up and less about those who choose not to,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, anyone in elected office or a leadership position has a moral obligation to ensure every single community they serve feels safe, seen, supported and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n