The contrast could hardly have been sharper.
As thousands of New Yorkers filled Fifth Avenue on Sunday for the annual Israel Day Parade, a roster of current and former city leaders turned out to show support for New York’s Jewish community. Missing from the lineup was Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, former Mayors Eric Adams and Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and a host of elected officials marched alongside parade-goers during the annual celebration.
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Bloomberg, a longtime supporter of Israel who attended the parade throughout his 12 years in office, wore blue and white and waved an Israeli flag as he walked beside Tisch and members of the NYPD contingent.
The pair drew a warm reception from attendees.
Crowds chanted, “We miss you, Mike!” and “Jessie for mayor!” as Bloomberg and Tisch marched behind the Police Department banner alongside officers from New York’s Finest.
Tisch had previewed her participation days earlier while standing beside Mamdani at a security briefing for the event.
“It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it’s my decision to march proudly,” she said.
Former Mayor Eric Adams also received a hero’s welcome from many attendees. Adams, who attended the parade annually during his tenure, used the occasion to highlight concerns about rising antisemitism.
“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,” Adams said in a video posted to X.
As Adams joined the march, supporters shouted, “The real mayor is here, Mr. Adams!”
Rabbi Yoav of Manhattan’s Lower East Side echoed the sentiment, calling out, “We miss you, Mayor Adams!”
Meanwhile, Mamdani spent part of the morning appearing on a radio program where he discussed his enthusiasm for the job and his eventual re-election campaign, despite being only months into his first term and years away from the next mayoral contest.
Later in the day, the mayor was spotted riding a bicycle through the city while dressed in a white collared shirt, dark suit, and dress shoes.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped the Israel Day Parade — while Gov. Hochul, former Mayors Bloomberg and Adams, and NYPD Commissioner Tisch all turned out to march on Fifth Avenue.
Tisch made her message clear beforehand — standing beside Mamdani at a security briefing, she told him directly: “It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it’s my decision to march proudly.”
The crowd gave Adams and Bloomberg a hero’s welcome — chants of “We miss you, Mike!” and “The real mayor is here!” rang out as the two former mayors walked the route with officers from the NYPD.
While the parade marched, Mamdani was on the radio — then on a bicycle — his absence at a high-visibility show of solidarity with Jewish New Yorkers became the story of the day.
The absence did not go unnoticed.
For supporters of the parade, the event served as a visible show of solidarity with New York’s Jewish community at a time when concerns about antisemitism remain elevated. With so many current and former city leaders turning out, Mamdani’s decision to stay away became a story of its own.
More over at the New York Post:
Ex-mayors join Hochul, Tisch and thousands at NYC’s Israel parade — while No-Show Mamdani bizarrely rides bike around town in business suit, no helmet. Read today’s cover here: https://t.co/abCMyqTHvH pic.twitter.com/9amw4nuPJU
— New York Post (@nypost) June 1, 2026
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