NYC Comptroller Reverses Campaign Pledge to Restore Israel Bonds Purchases

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine has declined to restore the city’s purchases of Israel Bonds, breaking a campaign pledge and keeping the city out of an investment tradition that began in 1974.

Levine is facing questions over the decision, which Israel Bonds President and CEO Dani Naveh challenged in an interview with FOX Business, arguing the financial case for the bonds is strong and saying his office learned of the decision only when it was reported.

“We learned of the comptroller’s decision when it was reported,” Naveh said. “The city’s former comptroller had already broken with a 50-year tradition of investing in Israel Bonds, a tradition his predecessors kept even during times when Israel’s economy was vulnerable. We had hoped his successor would reverse that decision because, until recently he had pledged many times to restore New York City’s investment in Israel Bonds.”

City investments began in 1974. Former Comptroller Brad Lander stopped renewing purchases as holdings matured in 2023. Israel Bonds were first issued in 1951.

Levine’s explanation

Levine cited financial considerations and technical obstacles in departing from his pledge. “I always said this would be based on financial considerations only, not politics,” he told The New York Times. He later said purchases remained under evaluation, citing a New York City rule change affecting the short-term investment desk.

FOX Business said it asked Levine’s office for the financial analysis behind the reversal and whether other investments offered stronger returns. His office did not respond by publication time.

Critics have asked whether the Mamdani administration’s stance toward Israel influenced the decision, and whether politics rather than finances drove the reversal, a charge Levine denies.

The financial argument for the bonds

Naveh countered the financial rationale directly, pointing to published rates: three-year Jubilee Bonds paying an annual interest rate of 5.52 percent, five-year bonds at 6.02 percent, and ten-year bonds at 6.44 percent.

“In 75 years, through wars, economic crises, and periods when its economy was far weaker than it is today, the State of Israel has never missed a single payment of principal or interest on its bonds,” he said, adding that the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel project four percent growth in 2026 while the OECD forecasts 5.6 percent growth for 2027.

He also cited unemployment of about 3 percent, inflation near 1.6 percent, a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 68 percent, and sovereign ratings of A from S&P and Fitch and Baa1 from Moody’s. Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 44 American local, state and municipal governments have invested nearly $4 billion in Israel Bonds, including the State of New York, he said.

“If Israel Bonds are a sound investment for New York State, why not for New York City? Let the numbers guide this decision,” Naveh said.

Reporting based on coverage by FOX Business, citing The New York Times.