Democrats who marched in New York’s Israel Day parade decry attendance of far-right minister Smotrich

Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, left, marches during the Israel Day parade in New York City on Sunday. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters View image in fullscreen Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, left, marches during the Israel Day parade in New York City on Sunday. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters Democrats who marched in New York’s Israel Day parade decry attendance of far-right minister Smotrich Politicians’ statements reflect difficulty facing pro-Israel Democrats as voter support for country falls Several prominent New York Democrats who participated in the city’s annual Israel Day parade on Sunday have condemned the participation of Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister and a leading figure in the Israeli settler movement, in the event. Smotrich was among several Israeli lawmakers and cabinet officials who marched in the parade on Sunday. His appearance marked his first trip to the US in more than a year , and came less than 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, including the New York senator Chuck Schumer; the House representatives Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler ; New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul ; the state’s attorney general, Letitia James ; the Bronx borough president, Vanessa Gibson ; the city council speaker, Julie Menin ; the city’s comptroller, Mark Levine ; and others. New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, drew criticism from pro-Israel figures for declining to attend , citing his opposition to the Israeli government. Democrats split on Israel parade as Mamdani keeps promise to skip event Read more In the aftermath of the event, several high-profile attenders released statements distancing themselves from Smotrich, saying they were unaware that he would be present and publicly denouncing him. Their statements reflected the difficult dance facing pro-Israel Democrats who must contend with Israel’s increasingly extremist government representatives and declining support for the country among their own voters. “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,” Hochul said on Monday on X. “Yesterday’s parade was a celebration of Jewish pride, community, and unity. I strongly condemn his participation.” James similarly criticized Smotrich, writing on social media that “Islamophobia has no place in New York. I unequivocally condemn Bezalel Smotrich’s hateful rhetoric.” A spokesperson for Schumer told the New York Times that the senator’s “condemnation of Smotrich’s extremism is longstanding, public and unchanged ”. Questions also emerged about how Smotrich came to attend the parade. Mark Treyger, chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC-NY), the parade’s lead organizer, told the Times that they did not know that Smotrich and other far-right Israeli offici