NYC Comptroller Mark Levine’s Broken Pledge on Israel Bonds Will Fuel BDS, Predecessor Tells the Sun

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine is going back on a pledge to reinvest city pension funds in Israeli government bonds.During last year’s campaign, Mr. Levine promised to restart buying bonds from Israel after his predecessor, Brad Lander, divested them in 2023. Now Mr. Levine says it wouldn’t be prudent to continue the investments due to uncertainty in Israel.“I always said this would be based on financial considerations only, not politics — that’s still my position,” Mr. Levine on Wednesday told the New York Times.But Scott Stringer, who served as the city comptroller from 2014 to 2022, took the view that Israel Bonds was a sound long-term investment. “I have real concern that the indecision today will fuel a BDS [boycott, divestment, and sanctions] movement that is antisemitic,” Mr. Stringer told the Sun.“It could have ramifications nationally and around the world. This is the fourth largest pension fund in the United States and it is looked upon as a thought leader and it will be judged by many,” he continued.Mr. Levine, who is Jewish, is one of few pro-Israel Democratic officials in New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been highly critical of Israel and called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest on war crime charges.At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Mr. Mamdani said he supported the decision. “I don’t believe our city should purchase Israel bonds. We don’t purchase the bonds of any other sovereign nation. I don’t think we should make an exception when it comes to Israel,” Mr. Mamdani said.Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running against Governor Kathy Hochul, also criticized the decision. “Looks like @MarkLevineNYC has the backbone of Kathy Hochul, letting BDS @ZohranKMamdani dictate his investing decisions,” Mr. Blakeman said on X.“A perfect example of a coward: a sellout and a fraud trying to appease the dangerous lunatics on the left driving NY and the country off a cliff. Shame on you,” former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind said in an X post.A Mamdani-backed democratic socialist running for New York’s Seventh Congressional district, covering parts of Queens and Brooklyn, cheered the decision and claimed it was not made for financial reasons.“City workers were told investing their pensions in a genocide is the responsible decision,” Ms. Valdez said in an X post. “They stood up and said no: divestment is the correct fiscal and moral choice.”Israel Bonds defended its returns saying they are strong and steady and it has made every payment of principal and interest on its bonds, on time, since 1951. “Since October 2023, institutional and retail investors have bought more than $8.5 billion in Israel Bonds,” Israel Bonds spokesman Nate Miller said in a statement to the Sun.“The New York City Comptroller has said his office’s analysis is ongoing, and we look forward to sitting down with him and his team,” Mr. Miller continued.The New York State pension fund continues to invest in Israeli government bonds, reportedly holding approximately $333 million in Israeli government bonds at the end of March. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in September that he did not plan to change that investment policy. “I always said this would be based on financial considerations only, not politics — that’s still my position,”Mr. Levine told the Times, describing an “ongoing” analysis his office is conducting. “But as of now, we feel that because of some technical challenges, and because of financial considerations, that this is not an investment that we can make right now.”

NYC Comptroller Mark Levine’s Broken Pledge on Israel Bonds Will Fuel BDS, Predecessor Tells the Sun

NYC Comptroller Mark Levine’s Broken Pledge on Israel Bonds Will Fuel BDS, Predecessor Tells the Sun

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