That is correct. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that he will not be attending the annual **Israel Day on Fifth** parade this upcoming Sunday.
This decision marks a major historical shift for City Hall, making him the **first NYC mayor to skip the event since 1964**.
Here is a breakdown of why this is drawing so much attention:
* **A Decades-Old Tradition Broken:** Joining the parade up Manhattan's Fifth Avenue has been a standard, expected public appearance for both city and state leaders for over 60 years.
* **The Political Stance:** Mayor Mamdani, who took office in January, is a vocal critic of Israel and a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He has explicitly stated, *"I will not be attending the Israel Day Parade,"* framing his decision around his belief in equal rights for all people everywhere and his opposition to the "normalization" of ties with Israel.
* **Logistics & Security:** Despite the mayor's personal boycott, parade organizers note that City Hall has cooperated fully with issuing the necessary permits, and the NYPD is actively managing security to ensure the event runs safely.
The move has drawn praise from his progressive allies but fierce backlash from mainstream Jewish organizations and political opponents, highlighting a sharpening divide between City Hall and the city's centrist Jewish leade
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