Democrats condemn Smotrich after unexpected Israel Day march

Democrats condemn – Several prominent New York Democrats who took part in Sunday’s Israel Day parade condemned Bezalel Smotrich’s appearance, saying they were not aware he would attend and that his ideology clashes with their values. The dispute also dragged New York City Mayor Z

Sunday’s Israel Day parade in New York looked. for many attendees. like familiar choreography: prominent elected officials marching together. a city signaling unity around Jewish pride. Then Bezalel Smotrich appeared — the far-right Israeli finance minister and a leading figure in the Israeli settler movement.

For the Democrats who marched, the shock wasn’t simply that Smotrich was present. It was how quickly their presence collided with what they now say are his hateful views — and, crucially, how little they say they knew beforehand.

Smotrich was among several Israeli lawmakers and cabinet officials who marched on Sunday. His appearance marked his first trip to the United States in more than a year, and it came less than a month after he said the international criminal court (ICC) was seeking an arrest warrant against him.

The parade drew a broad roster of New York political leaders. They included New York senator Chuck Schumer; House representatives Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler; New York governor Kathy Hochul; New York state’s attorney general Letitia James; Bronx borough president Vanessa Gibson; city council speaker Julie Menin; city comptroller Mark Levine; and others. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. however. drew criticism from pro-Israel figures for declining to attend. citing his opposition to the Israeli government.

After the event, multiple high-profile attenders moved quickly to distance themselves from Smotrich — and to emphasize that they say they were unaware he would be part of the procession.

On Monday, Hochul said she condemned Smotrich’s participation. “Bezalel Smotrich is a far-right extremist whose hateful and divisive rhetoric is fundamentally at odds with the values we hold dear in New York. ” she wrote on X. “Yesterday’s parade was a celebration of Jewish pride, community, and unity. I strongly condemn his participation.”.

James likewise criticized Smotrich, writing on social media that “Islamophobia has no place in New York. I unequivocally condemn Bezalel Smotrich’s hateful rhetoric.”

Schumer’s office also sought to close the gap between marching and endorsement. A spokesperson for Schumer told The New York Times that the senator’s “condemnation of Smotrich’s extremism is longstanding, public and unchanged”.

But for many, the bigger question wasn’t only whether Smotrich should be there. It was how he ended up marching at all.

Mark Treyger. chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC-NY). the parade’s lead organizer. told The New York Times that he and his team did not know that Smotrich and other far-right Israeli officials — including government ministers Ofir Sofer. Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichay Eliyahu — were attending.

Treyger said the officials appeared to have been brought to the parade with a group from Israel’s consulate general in New York. He also described what he called a lack of transparency: “There was a complete lack of transparency here. ” Treyger told the outlet. adding that he did not learn of Smotrich’s presence until near the end of the event. The Israeli consulate of New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Guardian.

Treyger returned to the issue on Monday as well. posting on social media that “while some individuals who attended were neither invited by JCRC-NY nor known to us in advance. participation in the parade is not an endorsement of any political figure or ideology”. He added: “We reject rhetoric that dehumanizes others, fuels division, or diminishes the dignity of any human being.”.

Smotrich’s appearance did not come out of nowhere. He has called for Israel to annex the West Bank and for Palestinian villages there to be ethnically cleansed, and for Gaza to be “destroyed”. He has also described himself as “proud homophobe”.

Last year, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on Smotrich, as well as on Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying that the ministers “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”.

Dan Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel, also condemned the appearance. He wrote that Smotrich was “not invited to the Israel Day Parade in New York” and that “he crashed it”. “He should have stayed away,” Shapiro wrote. “His extremist views do harm to the US-Israel relationship.”

The fallout quickly spread to the city’s own political leaders.

On Monday, Mamdani said he was “offended” by the participation of Smotrich and several other Israeli lawmakers and ministers. Speaking on MS NOW. Mamdani said that “you can see in the participation of the far-right Israeli minister Smotrich. as well as a number of other ministers. a vision of annihilation. a complicity in genocide and. frankly. a belief that does not have much value for even the sanctity of children in Gaza”.

Still, Mamdani pointed to how his own administration handled participation. “When it comes to members of my administration, I allow them to make their own decisions as to what marches they would like to participate in,” Mamdani said. His police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, marched in the parade.

Others chose not to attend at all. Former New York City comptroller Brad Lander skipped the parade. Lander is now running for Congress against Dan Goldman in a primary race that has made their differing positions on Israel a defining feature.

In a primary debate on Monday. Goldman said he was “proud” to march in the parade “to celebrate the nation and state of Israel. ” which he said is “distinct from its government”. He added that he opposed the Netanyahu government and said he was unaware Smotrich would attend. “I am incredibly disappointed that that occurred because I have called for his removal. I have called for sanctions against him. ” Goldman said.

Lander responded by emphasizing the gap between them, saying he and Goldman had “profound differences”. He argued that “while Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. violating international law. violating Palestinian human rights. I believe we should not be sending additional US military aid to Israel. ” and said he “won’t be marching in the Israel Day parade alongside government ministers in Netanyahu’s government like Bezalel Smotrich”.

The sequence of statements now leaves the same tension hanging in the air: the parade meant to project community unity. yet Smotrich’s presence triggered immediate condemnations and claims of missing information. For participants who insist they did not endorse Smotrich’s ideology. the question is whether the parade’s organizational process can withstand the ideological extremes now reaching into New York’s public celebrations.

Israel Day parade Bezalel Smotrich New York Democrats Kathy Hochul Letitia James Chuck Schumer Dan Goldman Zohran Mamdani JCRC-NY Ofir Sofer Yitzhak Wasserlauf Amichay Eliyahu Itamar Ben-Gvir