NYPD Implements ‘Most Extensive Security Plan Ever’ for Israel Day Parade Without Mamdani
by Shiryn Ghermezian
People march during the “Israel Day on Fifth” parade, in New York City, US, May 31, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The New York City Police Department was in full force on Sunday to help ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of people gathered along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for the annual Israel Day Parade honoring the Jewish state.
“The NYPD was not messing around with security: this was the most extensive security plan that the NYPD has ever put together for this event so that everyone could celebrate safely,” said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish. “Thank you to every member of the NYPD who was out today protecting our city.”
The police department said no incidents took place at the parade on Sunday, and parade organizers at JCRC-NY thanked Tisch and the NYPD “for their steadfast commitment to ensuring another secure and dignified celebration.”
Tisch led the parade as grand marshal and marched alongside former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Other New York political leaders who marched in the parade included Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Attorney General Leticia James, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, former Mayor Eric Adams, and members of the US Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Members of Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, also attended. Speaker Amir Ohana led a large delegation at this year’s parade, which was held under the theme, “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.” Members of the Knesset who marched included Meirav Ben Ari, Yitzhak Kreuzer, Meir Cohen, Afif Ebed, Sasson Guetta, Hava Atiya, Vladimir Beliak, Orit Farkash-HaCohen, Oded Forer, Eitan Ginzburg, Ariel Kellner, and Yulia Malinovsky.
The current mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, was noticeably missing from the celebration, breaking a long-standing tradition of mayors participating in the parade. He is reportedly the first city mayor to skip the parade since its founding in 1964.
On Thursday, the Democratic socialist, who is Muslim and an avowed anti-Zionist, reiterated that he would not be attending when speaking to reporters at a news conference.
“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,” the mayor said.
At the same news conference, Tisch stood alongside Mamdani and told reporters she would “proudly” march in the parade. “It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it’s my decision to march proudly,” she said.
Meanwhile, Muslim women’s rights and interfaith activist Anila Ali, founder of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, led the first Muslim group to ever march in the Israel Day Parade. The group carried a banner that said “Muslims For Israel” and those who marched wore shirts with the same message.
“Today we are here to say – No more hate. Only love,” Ali told the group Jews of New York while marching in the parade. “Everyone has a right to religious freedom. Intimidation and hatred against the Jewish people are un-American. We all belong in this beautiful city, and every Jewish person has the same right as a Muslim to go into their synagogue without fear. And that’s what we are here to fight.”
Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is currently running for governor of New York, also marched in the Israel Day Parade on Sunday. Blakeman, who is Jewish, called Mamdani “antisemitic” as he headlined a rally against antisemitism in early May.
“One of his first acts as mayor was to change the definition of antisemitism. We don’t have enough problems in the city? That was the first thing he had to do?” Blakeman told the New York Post. “He’s got a dark heart. He’s un-American and he’s antisemitic. And he’s got to change or otherwise this city will rise up against him because this is a city of good people.”
At a press conference before the parade, Blakeman also called Mamdani “anti-Israel” and noted that he “denigrates Israel” but stays silent about countries that blatantly violate human rights.
“Never says anything about places like Iran, Russia, China, places that really don’t have the kind of human rights that Israel does,” Blakeman said of the mayor, according to Fox News. “So we don’t want to see him marching here, because we don’t want a wolf in sheep’s clothing marching in our parade.”
On Sunday morning, ahead of the Israel Day Parade, Gov. Hochul attended an annual event in Manhattan hosted by Met Council, America’s largest Jewish nonprofit organization that combats poverty. At the event she formally signed the “Buffer Zone” bill, which will establish 50-foot security perimeters around places of religious worship, in an effort to combat protests taking place outside synagogues and other religious sites.
