Former prime minister Naftali Bennett condemned New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision not to attend the annual Israel Day Parade on Sunday, calling it “cowardly.”<\/p>\n
“At a time when Jews are being harassed, attacked in the streets, and told to hide or apologize for who they are, choosing to march is an act of courage,” Bennett<\/a> declared in a post on X\/Twitter. “It is a declaration that Jews will not be intimidated and that the Jewish state will not disappear because others wish it would.”<\/p>\n Mamdani’s lack of attendance, he said, sent a message.<\/p>\n “To him, I would say: leadership means showing up for all New Yorkers, including the Jews who call this city home,” Bennett said, adding, “To every Jewish New Yorker marching today, and to every ally standing beside them: thank you. Your support is felt in Israel. Am Yisrael Chai.”<\/p>\n Mamdani confirmed<\/a> he would not be attending the Israel Parade last week, making him the first NYC mayor not to participate since 1964.<\/p>\n In 2024, Mamdani did attend the parade, posting on X\/Twitter that he would “always stand by our Jewish brothers and sisters.”<\/p>\n Netanyahu celebrates Jewish New Yorkers<\/p>\n Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also marked the Israel Day Parade on Sunday, saying that the people of Israel “embrace Jewish New Yorkers and friends of Jewish New Yorkers.”<\/p>\n “For more than 3,000 years, Zion, Jerusalem’s second name, and Zionism \u2013 attachment to Jerusalem and the land of Israel \u2013 have been foundations of Jewish identity,” he said.<\/p>\n Netanyahu did not mention Mamdani, but also concluded his post with the declaration “Am Yisrael Chai!”<\/p>\n