WASHINGTON (TNND) — New York City’s annual Israel Day Parade has long been considered a bipartisan tradition — but this year, the event is becoming a symbol of the growing divide within the Democratic Party over Israel, Gaza and antisemitism.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he will not attend Sunday’s parade, becoming the first New York mayor in decades to skip the event. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who has been sharply critical of the Israeli government and its military campaign in Gaza, said his decision was consistent with positions he expressed during his campaign.
“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,” Mamdani said Thursday.
The decision comes as debate inside the Democratic Party over U.S. support for Israel continues to intensify following the war in Gaza. In a recent opinion piece, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen argued Democrats should reassess the U.S.-Israel relationship and be more willing to criticize Israeli leadership amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
But some Democrats and Jewish leaders warn that criticism of Israel has increasingly crossed into antisemitism.
Former Maryland state Sen. Bobby Zirkin said he has been alarmed by rhetoric emerging within parts of the party.
“I never thought in all my years of politics I would see something like this going on,” Zirkin said.
Zirkin argued anti-Zionism and antisemitism are often inseparable.
“Being a Zionist just means you believe in the existence of the state of Israel,” he said. “For people who say they’re not antisemitic, just anti-Zionist — that doesn’t make any sense.”
The issue also surfaced during Thursday’s Democratic U.S. Senate debate in Michigan. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow said she believes Democrats must confront rising antisemitism within the party while also advocating for peace in the region.
“At the Democratic convention, an attendee yelled an antisemitic slur at my husband, who is Jewish,” McMorrow said. “We need to bring about long-term peace for Palestinians and for Israelis, and turning that into not an anti-Netanyahu but an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous.”
One of McMorrow’s opponents, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, has strongly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying U.S. taxpayer money should not support what he called “apartheid and genocide.”
Meanwhile, Jewish leaders in New York stress the Israel Day Parade has never been about endorsing any one Israeli government, but rather celebrating Jewish identity and the historic ties between New York City and Israel.