$27 million in divestment victories.
Despite the declared “ceasefire,” the Israeli government is continuing its genocide, killing hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza and escalating the settler-military reign of terror across the occupied West Bank.
As long as the Israeli government is allowed to operate with impunity from the international community and receives a blank check from the U.S., its atrocities against Palestinians will continue. That’s why our organizing targets the root cause enabling Israel’s violence against Palestinians: material support from our own institutions here in the U.S, in the form of Israel Bonds. Here’s the latest in the fight for divestment.
Why fight for divestment from Israel bonds?
States, counties, cities, and public pension funds across the U.S. are invested in Israel Bonds, direct loans to the Israeli government, often to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. The New York state retirement fund, for instance, holds over $350 million in Israel Bonds, while the Ohio state treasury and Ohio counties collectively hold over $300 million.
These bonds are unrestricted loans that go directly into the Israeli treasury — providing financial support for all aspects of Israeli violence against Palestinians, including Israel’s apartheid system, forced displacement of Palestinians, illegal settlement construction, and its ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people.
Notably, these investments are often held by state pension funds, meaning that our community members’ retirement funds are directly invested in the Israeli government, often without their knowledge. Financially, experts are increasingly critical of Israel Bonds due to their risk level, poor performance, and inflexibility. Local officials’ choice to invest millions of public dollars in these bonds is therefore often a political decision to support the Israeli government and military, rather than one in the best financial interest of the communities they serve.
That’s why JVP chapters and our partners have been organizing across the country to demand their state and local fund managers divest from Israel Bonds and end their direct support for genocide and apartheid, investing instead in the health and well-being of our communities.
Where did the movement win divestment — and how?
Increasingly, state and local treasurers and comptrollers are recognizing that Israel Bonds are poorly performing, risky investments, and are responding to grassroots campaigns by divesting and refusing to reinvest in Israel Bonds. Three recent major wins demonstrate that the fight for divestment is making headway across the country, with even more yet to come.
North Carolina
The Break the Bonds NC coalition recently announced that the state of North Carolina has sold all $6.7 million of Israeli government bonds held in the state pension fund. This win came out of a powerful campaign supported by over 40 organizations, including unions and faith groups:
Michigan
After a year-long campaign, Michigan Divest announced in late November that the state Department of Treasury has dropped all state pension investments in Israel Bonds, totaling $10 million. Hear from the campaign organizers in their own words:
Minnesota
In Minnesota, records requests revealed that the State Board of Investment had been quietly divesting from Israel Bonds — selling over $13 million at a loss of nearly $1 million. Organizers explained that this is the first step in a fight to divest all of Minnesota’s investments in the Israeli government and other companies that uphold the oppression of Palestinians:
Where do we go from here?
These wins prove that our communities don’t want their tax dollars and retirement funds paying for Israeli apartheid and genocide. And they demonstrate that, increasingly, treasurers, comptrollers, and financial advisors agree with us that the Israeli government is a bad financial investment for our communities.
These victories create momentum — proving that divestment is a winnable goal, and providing crucial lessons in strategy as we scale up our fight even further. These recent wins pave the way for bigger divestment victories, taking on fights in New York State, Ohio, and Miami-Dade County, where Israel Bonds holdings all total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Right now, there are more than 10 active campaigns for Israel bonds divestment across the U.S., involving JVP chapters as well as many of our Palestinian-led partner organizations. These campaigns include No New Bonds Ohio, Break the Bonds Pennsylvania, New York City, and many others.
It’s no coincidence that the genocidal Israeli government and its allies in the U.S. have fought our divestment efforts tooth and nail for decades. They’re fighting us this hard because divestment works. It cuts off critical financial support for the Israeli state, and it sends a powerful message that impunity for Israel’s crimes is coming to an end.
Defend anti-Zionist students.
As our organizing gains power, repression against our movement continues to grow. Now, Indiana University-Bloomington has become the latest university engaging in blatant censorship and violations of academic freedom against its anti-Zionist community members.
Email the IU administration now to let them know this is unacceptable.
Plug in locally.
JVP chapters across the country are fighting to end their communities’ complicity in Israeli genocide and apartheid. While not every chapter is running an Israel bonds campaign, there are many ways to get plugged into this work.
Check out the map of JVP across the country and see who’s organizing near you.
Join Power Half-Hour.
Since October 2023, JVP members and supporters have joined Monday-Thursday for Power Half-Hours for Gaza, coming together to channel their grief and outrage into action.
Register now to join this space of collective action — all are welcome, and all are needed.
With nearly 100,000 subscribers, the Wire is one of the largest U.S. publications dedicated to justice. Every week, we cover important news from Palestine, the United States, and the Palestine solidarity movement — and provide ways to take action.
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With nearly 100,000 subscribers, the Wire is one of the largest American publications dedicated to justice. Every week, we cover important news from Palestine, the United States, and the Palestine solidarity movement — and provide ways to take action.