Several prominent New York Democrats who joined the city’s annual Israel Day parade have publicly distanced themselves from Bezalel Smotrich, after the far-right Israeli finance minister marched in the event. Their criticism came as questions grew over how Smotrich and other Israeli officials ended up appearing in a parade that drew some of the state’s best-known political figures.
The dispute has highlighted the growing tension inside pro-Israel Democratic politics, where support for Israel now sits alongside deep criticism of the Israeli government’s far-right wing. It also followed a broader split in New York politics, after Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew backlash from pro-Israel voices for staying away from the parade.
Democratic leaders condemn Smotrich
Governor Kathy Hochul said Smotrich’s presence was unacceptable, describing him as “a far-right extremist” whose rhetoric was “fundamentally at odds with the values we hold dear in New York.” She said the parade was meant to celebrate “Jewish pride, community, and unity,” and added that she “strongly condemn[s] his participation.”
Attorney general Letitia James also criticized Smotrich, writing that “Islamophobia has no place in New York” and saying she “unequivocally condemn[s] Bezalel Smotrich’s hateful rhetoric.” A spokesperson for Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said his opposition to Smotrich’s extremism was “longstanding, public and unchanged.”
Dan Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel, also blasted Smotrich’s appearance. He said Smotrich was “not invited to the Israel Day Parade in New York” and argued that he “crashed it,” adding that “his extremist views do harm to the US-Israel relationship.”
Questions over how he got into the parade
Mark Treyger, the chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which serves as the parade’s lead organizer, said the group did not know Smotrich or several other far-right Israeli officials would be there. Those officials included ministers Ofir Sofer, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichay Eliyahu.
Treyger said the officials appeared to have arrived with a group from Israel’s consulate general in New York. He told the New York Times there was “a complete lack of transparency here,” and said he learned of Smotrich’s presence only near the end of the event.
Later, Treyger said in a social media post that some people at the parade were neither invited by JCRC-NY nor known in advance, but that participation did not amount to backing any political figure or ideology. He also said the organization rejects “rhetoric that dehumanizes others, fuels division, or diminishes the dignity of any human being.”
Smotrich’s record and the political fallout
Smotrich’s presence drew sharper scrutiny because of his record. He has called for Israel to annex the West Bank, for Palestinian villages there to be ethnically cleansed, and for Gaza to be “destroyed.” He has also described himself as a “proud homophobe.”
The controversy also sits against an international backdrop. Last year, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying they had “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.”
For Democrats at the parade, the issue was not just Smotrich’s politics but the optics of sharing space with him at a public celebration. Hochul, James and others said they had not known he would attend, and their statements made clear they wanted to separate the parade’s stated purpose from his appearance.
Mamdani, Goldman and Lander reflect the divide
The event also exposed the different ways New York politicians are handling Israel-related politics. Mamdani said he did not attend and later said he was “offended” by Smotrich’s participation, arguing on MS NOW that the minister and other Israeli officials represented “a vision of annihilation” and “a complicity in genocide.”
At the same time, Mamdani said he still provided extensive security for the parade, and his police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, marched. He added that members of his administration were free to decide for themselves which marches to join.
Representative Dan Goldman, who did march, said during a primary debate that he was “proud” to take part “to celebrate the nation and state of Israel,” which he called separate from its government. He said he opposed the Netanyahu government and did not know Smotrich would be there, adding that he was “incredibly disappointed” because he had called for Smotrich’s removal and sanctions against him.
Former city comptroller Brad Lander, who skipped the parade, drew a direct contrast with Goldman. Lander said he would not march alongside “government ministers in Netanyahu’s government like Bezalel Smotrich,” and argued that the US should not send additional military aid to Israel while it was violating international law and Palestinian human rights.
The parade was meant to project unity around Jewish life and support for Israel, but Smotrich’s presence turned it into a test of how far New York Democrats can go in backing the event without being linked to Israel’s most hard-line ministers.
