Rabia Iclal Turan
01 June 2026•Update: 01 June 2026
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday condemned the participation of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in New York City's annual Israel Day Parade, calling him a "far-right extremist" whose views are at odds with the state's values.
"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 in a post on US social media company X.
"Yesterday’s parade was a celebration of Jewish pride, community, and unity. I strongly condemn his participation," she added.
Smotrich, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, attended Sunday's parade alongside other Israeli officials, including Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.
The minister has drawn international criticism over incendiary remarks regarding Palestinians, including advocating for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza.
At the end of February 2023, Smotrich said that Israel should "wipe out" the Palestinian village of Huwwara after it was subjected to a violent rampage by Israeli settlers.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has filed a secret arrest warrant application against Smotrich over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports.
Alleged charges include forced displacement, the transfer of Israel's own population as a war crime, and persecution and apartheid as crimes against humanity.
Eliyahu, also present at the parade, has previously called for nuclear weapons to be used against Gaza and declared that "there is no problem bombing their food and fuel reserves. They should starve."
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani boycotted the parade — the first mayor in the event's history not to attend.
