NEW YORK — Tens of thousands of Israel supporters filled Fifth Avenue on Sunday for the annual Israel Day Parade, one of the largest and longest-running pro-Israel events anywhere in the world outside of Israel itself. This year’s theme — “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists” — drew what organizers expected to be one of the event’s largest-ever turnouts, carrying with it a weight of meaning amplified by the shadow of October 7th, ongoing regional conflict, and a growing international movement to challenge Israel’s very legitimacy as a state.

But amid the sea of flags and the sound of marching bands, one group stood out for a reason beyond its numbers: for the first time in the parade’s history, a Muslim delegation walked the route down Fifth Avenue — led by Anila Ali, a Pakistani-American Muslim, women’s rights activist, and one of the most fearless moderate Muslim voices in American public life today.

A Sacred Accord, A Principled Stand

Speaking with ILTV’s David Matlin from the parade route, Ali traced her journey to this historic moment back years. Her organization was the first and only Muslim group to formally sign on to the Abraham Accords — a decision that drew fierce backlash from within certain Muslim communities.

“We signed on because we believe it is a sacred accord,” Ali told Matlin. “It carries the name of our shared patriarch. All our lives we are told we bless Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, through Prophet Abraham. That shared heritage is not something to be ashamed of — it is something to be celebrated.”

Ali’s group had also organized the first Muslim leaders’ tour of Israel in 2022, bringing Pakistani and Pakistani-Jewish participants in a symbolic act of bridge-building that earned scorn from Islamist organizations but praise from those committed to interfaith peace.

Political Failures and a Mayor’s Glaring Absence

The interview also turned to the notably absent figure of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who became the first New York City mayor in decades to skip the Israel Day Parade entirely — a decision Ali and many others described as a profound dereliction of civic duty.

“People voted for Mamdani thinking he was young and would bring new ideas,” Ali said, speaking with visible frustration. “But he has forgotten that he is not an individual anymore. He holds a sacred public office. This is the largest city in the United States, with a thriving Jewish community with deep roots to Israel. He needs to act like a mayor for all people.”

Ali did not mince words about what she sees as the mayor’s ideological alignment, accusing him of maintaining what she called “DSA and Islamist links” while doing nothing to address the documented intimidation of Jewish New Yorkers outside synagogues and schools. “Little children, little girls — their schools being harassed by people wearing keffiyehs while invoking the name of my religion,” she said. “I have a serious problem with that.”

The Ideology Behind the Intimidation

For Ali, the threat is not new. She has been sounding the alarm since the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when she publicly stood with America and was met with hostility from within certain Muslim communities. She sees a direct ideological throughline between the extremism of that era and what she is witnessing in New York today.

“When Osama bin Laden — the enemy of America — was killed, there were people in New York who were sad,” she recalled. “The ideology we see reflected today has been in the making for a very long time. We have ignored it. We cannot afford to ignore it any longer.”

She pointed directly at organizations such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), accusing them of preaching an old Muslim Brotherhood ideology that tells Muslims they cannot be friends with Jews and Christians. “This is an ideology we are fighting as Muslims,” she said firmly.

Death Threats, Fatwas, and Courage Under Fire

Ali’s activism has come at a serious personal cost. After speaking at the March for Israel rally following October 7th, she was issued a fatwa from the Iranian regime. “My life changed after that,” she said quietly. “I can’t attend many public events the way I used to. Before coming from Washington, D.C., I called the FBI to inform them I was doing this.”

Yet Ali pressed forward — not only for herself, but for the five Muslim organizations and individuals who marched with her Sunday, including Sheikh Imam Moussa Dramé from the Bronx, who she described as a courageous figure willing to put his name and reputation on the line for peace.

“These amazing men and women from New York — Muslims who are walking with me — they know there are people in their communities who will mock them, who will harass them,” Ali acknowledged. “This is the same Hamas-type intimidation I’ve seen used against Muslim women who dared to speak up. But today, alhamdulillah, we are standing.”

Abrahamic Brotherhood — Reclaiming Islam’s True Heritage

Woven through Ali’s testimony was a consistent theological and historical argument: that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a common Abrahamic heritage that extremist movements have deliberately obscured and perverted. She reminded her audience that when Afghan and Syrian refugees arrived in the United States, it was Jewish organizations that stepped forward to help them resettle.

“We seem to have forgotten that,” she said. “The Jewish people stood with Muslims after 9/11. Jewish organizations helped Muslim refugees build new lives here. That is the truth of our shared history. And that history is worth standing up for — today, on Fifth Avenue, in front of the whole world.”

She closed with a direct message to moderate Muslims across America: “We may not be as large in numbers yet. But we are growing, and we are here. Israel is here to stay. We are here to stay. And God bless America.”

This report is based on a live ILTV broadcast hosted by David Matlin. Watch the full interview at YouTube/ILTV. Original reporting and editorial presentation by Faith & Freedom News.