The Israel Day on Fifth parade in Manhattan on May 31 made a statement both for who was and was not present, according to Ofir Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York.

“To all our enemies all around the world, but specifically here in New York City, we are here to stay, we are strong, we are proud and my suggestion to all of these elected officials, who are thinking that we will disappear, the answer is ‘no,’” Akunis told JNS after the parade.

“The opposite is the truth,” the diplomat said.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, skipped the event, which his predecessors in City Hall have attended for 60 years. The mayor has said that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in the Big Apple, and his spokeswoman said that synagogues that host pro-Israel events violate international law.

Though Mamdani was conspicuously absent, many local, state and federal elected officials turned out to show support for the Jewish state.

Bipartisan attendance at the parade alone isn’t sufficient, according to Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a moderate who represents a Democratic-leaning district.

“I think it was important for Republicans and Democrats to be there, but it’s not enough to just be there,” the congressman told JNS. “You have to really root out the antisemitism that we are seeing, whether it’s on the left or the right.”

“You have to be willing to call it out directly by name, the people that are engaged in it,” Lawler said. “It’s important to point out who wasn’t there.”

Mamdani’s absence was “a disgrace,” Lawler told JNS. “I think every Democrat should be calling him out for it.”

Sunday’s parade featured the first-ever Muslim delegation, and Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, marched with a group of U.N. ambassadors, despite the global body’s frequent criticism of the Jewish state.

“We are not alone. We have a lot of friends,” Danon told JNS at the parade. “We have a lot of supporters, and we will continue to prosper to build our beautiful nation.”

“It’s a day of celebration, despite those who spread lies, who spread hate about Israel,” he said. “We will not stop. We will continue, and we will prevail.”

Ayoob Kara, a former Israeli communications minister, brought an international contingent of Druze Arabs from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan to the parade.

“We come in as a lobby of the Druze nation to say one thing. ‘Israel does not stand alone,’” Kara told JNS. “Not only Jews. It’s the Druze, the Kurds, all the minorities in the Middle East standing with Israel, supporting Israel.”

Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund participated for the second consecutive year, after allocating $100,000 last year to support the parade.

KKL-JNF, the historic land acquisition and development entity, separate from its American branch, sent eight people, including three board members, to the celebration on Sunday.

“After Oct. 7, all the Jewish people in the diaspora, and those at KKL-JNF as well, understand the importance for unity and for coordination, and understand the power of our voices acting together,” Yuval Yenni, chief financial officer of the group and its acting head of resource development, told JNS.

“We understand that we must operate together, narrowing the gap between us for the sake of the future of Israel,” Yenni said.

Ofir Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York, echoed that view.

“We have a lot of friends all around the world and specifically in the United States,” Akunis told JNS. “You saw a lot of elected officials who came bravely.”

Akunis warned about what he called a “new wave” and a “new fashion.”

“If you want to receive votes, you’ll speak against Israel, and you will use your disgusting words and lies against Israel,” he told JNS.

Some, he said, are resisting that political temptation, “not only in this parade, but with our long journey.”

“We need to strengthen the ties between our friends to bring them to Israel to see from close the wonder of this place,” Akunis said. “If they will not support Israel, the meaning is that they’re going to support the ayatollah and his proxies.”

The choice is between Israel and Iran and its terror proxies, according to Akunis, who has looked out from his Upper East Side apartment and seen protesters waving Hezbollah flags.”

“This is insane,” he told JNS. “I’m calling to my American friends. ‘Stop it, before it will be too late for you. We know who our neighbors are. You should know that these people don’t want to live beside you, my American friends. They want to live instead of you.’”