Jewish conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg called the 2026 Israel Day Parade the most important in its history while expressing joy that anti-Israel Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped the event.

The post WATCH: Jewish radio host Sid Rosenberg blasts Mamdani for boycotting Israel Day Parade appeared first on World Israel News.

Mamdani is the first NYC mayor not to attend the Israel Day Parade since 1964.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Sunday accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “despicably fueling the flames of hatred in the city against Israel and its Jewish residents” as he led an expanded Israeli parliamentary delegation at the annual Israel Day Parade in New York.

Ohana, a member of Likud, attended the event alongside 13 lawmakers from both the coalition and opposition after Mamdani chose not to attend the parade, the first time a New York City Mayor has done so since 1964.

According to the Knesset, the decision by the mayor led Ohana to increase the size of the delegation and participate personally in order to “express complete and uncompromising unity in Israel’s strength against its enemies at home and abroad.”

Mamdani has expressed support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and has said that Israel should not continue to exist as a Jewish state.

“You will not intimidate us. The attempt to uproot our connection to this space through lies and violence will not succeed and will be met here and everywhere with a powerful, united Zionist fist,” Ohana said in a statement.

The Israeli delegation included MK Afif Abed of Likud, MK Meir Cohen of Yesh Atid and MK Oded Forer of Yisrael Beytenu. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf of Otzma Yehudit also took part in the march.

Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer said the delegation joined supporters of Israel at the event.

“We were here with supporters of the State of Israel, holding our heads high and marching with Israeli flags with great pride,” Kreuzer said.

The annual Israel Day Parade is organized by the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council. The event brings together Jewish participants and people of different faiths.

The post ‘You will not intimidate us’: Knesset Speaker and delegation attend Israel Parade amid Mamdani boycott appeared first on World Israel News.

The 62nd Israel Day Parade has kicked off in Manhattan, New York, with notable politicians and activists joining the march, while newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani boycotts the event.

The post WATCH: Israel Day Parade kicks off in Manhattan, Mamdani a no-show appeared first on World Israel News.

Anila Ali told JNS that she and many others support the Jewish community and Israel’s right to exist.

By Debra Nussbaum Cohen, JNS

The Israel parade on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue this year is slated to have a Muslim group marching alongside Jewish organizations in what is believed to be a first time in the parade’s 61-year history.

It will also be the first time in memory that New York City’s mayor will not participate in the parade, which shows support for the Jewish state. The annual event, scheduled this year for May 31, typically has thousands of participants, with groups marching from Jewish day schools, yeshivas and organizations.

Anila Ali, board chair and president of the nonprofit American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, intends to lead group that she expects will include about 30 people in the annual event, which takes place on New York’s iconic Fifth Avenue, alongside Central Park.

In an exclusive interview with JNS, Ali said that the anti-Israel protesters, who have recently whipped up angry crowds in Jewish neighborhoods and fomented fear, do not represent all Muslims.

She and many others support the Jewish community and Israel’s right to exist, she told JNS.

“After 9/11, the first faith community that reached out to us were the Jewish people,” she said, of the time after Islamist terrorists attacked the World Trade Centers and other sites, killing closing to 3,000 people, and Muslims became afraid of retaliation.

“As the largest Muslim women’s civil rights organization standing against bigotry within and without, we had a very close relationship based on trust that we shared common heritage,” she told JNS.

Now, at a time when Jewish people are being targeted by anti-Israel, antisemitic protesters, she wants to return that support, she said.

JNS asked if she is worried about what will happen when she marches in the Israel parade.

“A lot of people are afraid, but we are not,” Ali, who is Pakistan-born, told JNS.

Sources at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which runs the parade, were unable to confirm that no other Muslim groups have participated in years past. The JCRC has long had a policy of not commenting on participating groups for security reasons.

Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York City, has made his belief clear since he was a college student that he does not think that the State of Israel has a right to exist.

As a member of the New York state Assembly, before becoming mayor, Mamdani introduced the “Not On Our Dime” Act in 2023, seeking to prohibit New York nonprofits from funding Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria or be stripped of their nonprofit status.

Although re-introduced in 2025, the bill was roundly opposed in the Assembly and never came to a vote.

The mayor has also said that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York City.

New York City is home to about 1 million Jews, which is the largest population of any place outside of Israel.

Nevertheless, immediately upon being sworn into office on Jan. 1, Mamdani revoked many of his predecessor’s executive orders, including those providing legal protections against antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

The post For First Time, Muslim Group Slated to March in Israel Parade appeared first on World Israel News.

Several designated screening entry points will also be set up along the route, and Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue will be closed throughout the parade.

By Grace Gilson, JTA

Security preparations for this weekend’s Israel Day Parade would be “the most extensive” that the NYPD has ever put together, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Thursday.

“To be blunt, we are not messing around with security at this year’s parade,” Tisch said as she was flanked by Mayor Zohran Mamdani at NYPD headquarters.

“The NYPD has one of the most robust municipal counterterrorism capabilities of any city in the world, and I am bringing all of that to bear for this year’s parade.”

Mamdani, meanwhile, reiterated his decision to skip the annual parade on Thursday, even as he faced fresh criticism for the decision.

“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,” said Mamdani, whos strongly identifies with the pro-Palestinian movement and is a frequent critic of Israel.

He added that he did not believe that his presence “should determine whether or not a New Yorker is safe or secure.”

This year’s Israel Day on Fifth, which has the theme “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists,” is slated to draw tens of thousands of participants on Sunday, according to Mark Treyger, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the parade.

Tisch, who will attend Sunday’s parade as an honorary grand marshal, said that this year will see the largest number of police officers ever assigned to the parade.

“It’s the largest celebration of its kind outside of Israel, and for so many of us it’s one of the most joyful days of the year, but the sobering truth is it is also taking place in a heightened threat environment with multiple threat factors active at the same time,” Tisch, who is Jewish, said.

Tisch added that attendees of the parade should also expect to see a host of security apparatuses, including “counterterrorism teams, explosive detection canines, helicopters, drones, emergency service, mounted units, hostile surveillance teams and other assets.”

Several designated screening entry points will also be set up along the route, and Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue will be closed throughout the parade.

“If you think you are too important to be screened, don’t come. There will be no exceptions,” Tisch said, adding that “any unauthorized persons entering the parade route will be arrested.”

Mamdani and Tisch stressed that there were “ no current known specific or credible threats against the parade.”

When asked by a reporter whether she had concerns over Mamdani’s decision to skip the event, Tisch replied, “It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it’s my decision to march.”

Ahead of his November election, Mamdani told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “While I will not be attending the Israel Day Parade, my lack of attendance should not be mistaken for a refusal to provide security or the necessary permits for its safety.”

Since his inauguration, Mamdani has participated in several parades across the city, including the Lunar New Year parade and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in March.

Still, Mamdani’s decision to skip the event has drawn scrutiny from some Jewish leaders, including Michael Novakhov, a Republican member of the New York Assembly, who said in a statement that Mamdani was “choosing to boycott this event because he is more interested in appeasing radical antisemitic extremists than standing with Jewish New Yorkers.”

Moshe Davis, the former Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, wrote in an op-ed in Fox News Wednesday that the “very New Yorkers Mamdani claims to fight for are the ones his politics ultimately hurt.”

Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, also criticized the mayor’s decision in a post on X, calling it “shameful.”

Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, urged Jews and Israelis to attend the event, writing in a post on X, “This year, when antisemitism and hatred of Israel is at an all-time high — fueled by leaders in NYC and worldwide — we must show them that the blue and white flag will never be taken down!”

Ahead of the parade, The Jewish Majority, an advocacy group led by AIPAC veteran Jonathan Schulman that published a letter opposing the “political normalization” of anti-Zionism during the mayoral election, also published a letter signed by 1,300 Jewish New Yorkers calling on Mamdani to address threats to Jewish safety.

The letter called on Mamdani to “support legislation designed to better protect vulnerable Jewish institutions, to denounce rhetoric that demonizes Zionists, and to unequivocally condemn, not merely discourage, calls to globalize the intifada.”

On Wednesday, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that he planned to attend the event, saying in a video address, “At a time when antisemitism is rising across our country and Jewish New Yorkers are facing hatred, intimidation and attacks at unprecedented levels, you cannot afford silence.”

When asked by a reporter at the press conference if he had a response to Adams’ announcement, Mamdani replied, “he’s welcome to spend his time as he so chooses.”

Mark Treyger, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the parade, said during the press conference Thursday that during Mamdani’s transition period that there were “assurances immediately from him and his team that there will be a parade.”

“Thank you again to the City of New York for having and providing all this tremendous support,” Treyger said. “I’m looking forward to a very safe, successful, and sunny Sunday parade.”

The post NYPD unveils ‘most extensive’ security operation ever for Israel Day Parade as Mamdani skips march appeared first on World Israel News.

“We need to make sure bad things don’t happen. We want to make sure there is safety for the Jewish community.”

By World Israel News Staff

A prominent New York Jewish activist is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to deploy National Guard troops to help protect participants and attendees at the upcoming Israel Day Parade in New York City, amid raging antisemitism that has fueled a major uptick in violent attacks against Jews.

Dov Hikind, who served as a New York state representative and is the founder of the organization Americans Against Antisemitism, said the parade, scheduled for Sunday, May 31, requires heightened security due to a hostile atmosphere toward Jews and Israel in the city.

“We need to make sure bad things don’t happen. We want to make sure there is safety for the Jewish community,” Hikind told the New York Post, adding that he is “calling on Gov. Hochul to bring in the National Guard to help the New York City Police Department.”

In a statement to the media, Hochul’s office said the governor remains committed to ensuring the safety of attendees at major public events, though the remarks did not specifically address the recent rise in antisemitic violence in the city.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe is Gov. Hochul’s top priority — especially as communities gather for major celebrations. At the Governor’s direction, State Police maintain an increased presence at large events throughout the state, and we will be closely coordinating with the NYPD and law enforcement partners in New York City to ensure the safety of all involved,” a Hochul spokesperson told the Post.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made it clear that he plans to boycott the event, in what is believed to be the first such absence by a sitting mayor in the parade’s 61-year history.

“Since the very first Israel Parade in 1964, every single sitting mayor of New York City has joined in the festive celebrations. New York has historically been proud of its deep relationship with Israel,” Moshe Davis, former executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism under Mayor Eric Adams, told Fox News Digital.

“Not joining the parade is an affront to the history of New York City,” he added.

The post Will the National Guard be deployed to protect NY Israel Day parade? appeared first on World Israel News.

More than 40,000 American Jews and Israel supporters flooded the streets of Manhattan, New York, for the Israel Day Parade, marching dozens of blocks alongside dignitaries, influencers, and former hostages.

The Israeli Day Parade in NYC is happening now!

No masks. No violence. No chaos.

American flags. Dancing. Happiness and love.

This is absolutely beautiful.

pic.twitter.com/nOM6XKA9wk

— Vivid. (@VividProwess) May 18, 2025

Every year at the Israel Day Parade, we show the world that the bond between New York City and Israel is unbreakable.

I want to also thank another strong voice for the Jewish community @montanatucker for marching alongside us today! pic.twitter.com/kMvxgqDxLM

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) May 18, 2025

The post WATCH: 40,000 American Jews, former hostages join in Israel Day Parade in Manhattan appeared first on World Israel News.