Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, skipped Sunday's Israel Day Parade, becoming the first city mayor in decades to absent himself from the annual march.
The New York parade has been held every year since the 1960s. With New York being home to the largest urban Jewish population outside of Israel, the event was regularly attended by previous mayors and other political leaders eager to win over Israel sympathizers celebrating the 1948 birth of the Jewish state.
America's most populated city is currently home to around 1 million Jewish residents.
This year, too, thousands of people rallied through the streets of Manhattan at noon, waving Israeli flags and blue and white balloons. Some of the participants were wearing shirts with the slogan "I love Israel."
New York City is home to the largest Jewish population in the United StatesImage: Porter Binks/UPI Photo/IMAGO
