Mayor Zohran Mamdani will notably be skipping the Israel Day Parade — saying Thursday its because he disagrees with the Jewish state’s government.
The mayor’s comments drew consternation from Jewish leaders, who slammed Mamdani for turning the annual celebration political, as he held firm to his longtime decision not to attend the parade set for Sunday.
“You know, 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, standing alongside NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a security briefing about the event.
“And I also said on that same campaign that I would have a responsibility as the mayor of the city to ensure the safety and security of each and every New Yorker,” he added.
The celebration along Fifth Avenue draws tens of thousands of revelers annually, including local community groups an students — and Tisch as an honorary grand marshal this year.
The top cop, who is Jewish, pointed to herself during the briefing when a reporter asked if anyone would be representing the Mamdani administration at the parade.
“It is the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly,” she said.
But some members of the Jewish community weren’t convinced by Mamdani’s reason for ditching the event — pointing out it is a celebration of religious identity and comes at a time when antisemitism continues to roil the city.
“It’s not a policy parade. It’s a Jewish people parade,” Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, the executive director of the New York Board of Rabbis, told The Post.
“He can march in the parade and have a different point of view [and] show respect for the Jewish people.”
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, had a blunt message for the Democratic Socialists of America darling in a Daily News op-ed earlier this week.
“The mayor was elected to lead all of us. He has decided that some of us are not worth his time. That is his right. It is also our right to remember it.”
Hizzoner’s snub stands in sharp contrast with his predecessors and comes after he happily joined other festivities this year, including the Lunar New Year Parade, the Phagwah Parade and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The 34-year-old former Queens state assemblyman has long expressed anti-Israel views and railed against its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led government. He has also slammed Israel for its military action in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack.
Mamdani said on the campaign trail last year he doesn’t believe Israel should be a Jewish state, but a state with equal rights and threatened to order the arrest of Netanyahu if he steps foot in the city.
He also made clear during the campaign he would not be marching in the Israel Day Parade, insisting he looked forward to joining and hosting other events for Jewish New Yorkers instead.
Former recent mayors like Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams marched in the parade while they were in office.
Adams trolled his successor on Wednesday, saying in an X post he planned on attending the parade.
Tisch said Thursday the NYPD was preparing to deploy “the most extensive security plan” that the department has ever put together for an Israel Day Parade, including “the largest number of officers ever assigned to that detail.”
The NYPD’s counterterrorism and intelligence bureau also have an active role in protecting parade attendees, both Mamdani and Tisch said.
“Included in that security plan will be the most heavy weapons teams ever, robust camera coverage of the area, and comprehensive screening of everyone entering the parade route, including spectators, vendors, participants, and the press,” Tisch said.
“If you think you are too important to be screened, don’t come. There will be no exceptions.”
— Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick