Millions in bonds for Israel put US states at odds with investment policies

US states spend millions on Israeli investments but risk non-compliance with their own policies.

The United States has long been Israel’s primary international backer, lending it vast political, diplomatic and financial support.

This has only increased since Israel began its assault on Gaza last October, even as it gradually expanded the parameters of its war, in which it is widely accused by human rights groups of committing genocide. According to Brown University’s Watson Institute, the US government provided Israel with almost $18bn in weapons and military aid in the first year of Israel’s war.

But Israel is also increasingly dependent on another source of funds: bonds, bought by states and municipalities across the US.

Between October 7, 2023 – when the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel and the latter subsequently began its war on Gaza – and April 18 this year, nearly three dozen states and counties have bought $1.7bn worth of bonds, according to Israel Bonds, a US-based company that raises foreign funds for Israel.

This money has gone straight into Israel’s general fund, where it can then be funnelled into Israel’s ballooning military budget. An email from Israel Bonds to an Ohio county treasurer noted the bonds were used in part to “refund the United States Government for security equipment”.