New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will not march in the annual Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, marking the first time since 1965 that a mayor has skipped the event. Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor and an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause, reiterated his decision during a press conference alongside Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish and will serve as the parade’s grand marshal.

Breaking a 62-Year Tradition

The mayor’s absence has been widely noted as a significant break from tradition. Every mayor since 1965,including Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg, and Rudy Giuliani,has attended the parade, which celebrates Jewish identity and American Zionism. Mamdani’s decision to forgo participation aligns with his campaign pledge and his broader criticism of Israeli government policies, including his February 2024 statement condemning the Israeli military response to the October 7 attacks as an act of “genocide.”

“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade,” Mamdani said at a Thursday press conference. “And I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear.” He also emphasized his commitment to ensuring the event’s safety and security, stating that the city has been preparing for weeks to make the parade “simple and peaceful.”

Controversy and Criticism

Mamdani’s decision has drawn sharp criticism from parts of New York’s Jewish community. Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, called the mayor’s absence “a slap in the face to all Jewish New Yorkers.” He also condemned Mamdani’s video commemorating the Nakba—the Arabic word for “catastrophe” referring to the displacement of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war,as “propaganda” that excludes context about Jewish displacement during the same period.

Rabbi Joe Potasnik, who served on Mamdani’s transition team, urged the mayor to march. “When you’re elected mayor, you represent the City of New York, the people who live here, with different opinions,” Potasnik said. “He may have his narrative. We may have our narrative. There’s no reason why he can’t walk with us.”

Moshe Davis, a former director of the New York Office to Combat Antisemitism under former Mayor Eric Adams, also criticized Mamdani’s absence on Fox News. “Since the first Israel Day Parade in 1964, every mayor has participated,” Davis said. “This is a brusque treatment of New York’s history.”

Broader Implications

City officials have said there are currently no known threats against the parade. Mamdani has sought to balance his pro-Palestinian stance with efforts to maintain relationships with New York’s Jewish community, which is estimated at over a million residents. Despite the controversy, the parade is expected to draw tens of thousands of marchers and spectators to Fifth Avenue for the 62nd annual event, which this year carries the theme “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.”

Meanwhile, Mamdani’s decision has sparked wider debate beyond the parade. In a separate development, a former Israeli soldier returned a key he said he stole from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. The soldier, who gave his name as Barack, said he had carried the key for 50 years before deciding to return it. “I return the key that I stole,” he said. “I return it to the owner—and this is what Israel should do, namely restoring land, rights, honor, independence, freedom and security to the Palestinian people.”