Mamdani, who won’t attend New York’s Israel parade, vows tight security

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Thursday vowed a record level of security for Sunday’s annual Israel parade in the city, despite Mamdani not attending due to his opposition to Israel.

“While I will not be attending, our administration has been preparing for weeks to ensure the parade is safe,” Mamdani said at a press briefing. “I take seriously my responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of every New Yorker and every event, regardless of my attendance.”

“I look forward to this parade occurring seamlessly and peacefully,” he said.

Mamdani, who is in his first year in office, will be breaking a major precedent, after New York City mayors have attended every year’s Israel Day Parade for decades alongside other state and local leaders.

The parade has seen tens of thousands march down Manhattan’s 5th Avenue in previous years, led by the state and city’s political leadership. Marching groups often include Jewish nonprofits, non-Jewish allies, dancing troupes, identity groups, and thousands of children from Jewish day schools.

Tisch, a prominent Jewish centrist, said she will be “honored” to walk with other dignitaries in the parade, which has the theme “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.”

“I’m so excited to march with you,” she said in Hebrew. Citing the rise in antisemitism and the dozens of recent attacks against Jews in the US, Canada and Europe, she said that, “We are not messing around with security at this year’s parade.”

“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,” Tisch said.

“New Yorkers will see the most extensive security plan that the NYPD has ever put together,” she added, including the “largest number of officers ever assigned to that detail.”

The vast array of law enforcement measures will include heavy weapons teams, camera coverage of the area, screening of everyone entering, checking vehicles, counter-terror teams, “explosive detection canines,” helicopters, drones, horse-mounted units, “hostile surveillance teams,” and plainclothes officers.

To prevent possible ramming attacks, streets leading to the parade will be fortified with hardened NYPD vehicles and heavy sanitation trucks.

NYPD intel teams will monitor social media for threats, and response units will be deployed across the city to immediately assess any threats.

Police will also be stationed throughout the surrounding public transportation system to protect attendees traveling to the event, Tisch said. Attendees are encouraged to take public transportation due to road closures.

There are no known, credible threats to the event, but “the absence of a specific threat does not mean the absence of risk,” Tisch said.

Regarding protests, she added, “We will not tolerate any disruptions to the parade. Any unauthorized persons entering the parade route will be arrested.”

The parade tends to see a small group of protesters on the route confined within a police barricade.

Asked about Mamdani not attending, Tisch said, “It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly.”

Mark Treyger, the head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the group organizing the parade, thanked Tisch and Mamdani and said, “We are expecting one of the biggest turnouts ever,” numbering in the tens of thousands.

Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul general in New York, posted on X that “This year, when antisemitism and hatred of Israel are 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!”

New York City saw a surge in antisemitic hate crimes after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, which continued in 2024. In 2025, the number dropped slightly, but Jews are still targeted more than all other groups combined every month.

Last year, there were near-daily anti-Israel protests on the city’s streets and college campuses.

The 2025 parade saw 50,000 people, including former Hamas hostages, march through New York City.

JTA contributed to this report.