Erakat was released on bond on the same day as her arrest. As she was removed from the venue in handcuffs, she reportedly said, “This is what happens when you try to exercise basic free speech.” [Getty]
Rights advocates in the United States are condemning the arrest of attorney and professor Noura Erakat at a budget hearing in Florida this week.
The academic was at Tuesday’s event in Palm Beach County in protest of increased Israel bond sales when she was arrested for alleged trespassing.
“Noura Erakat was arrested unjustly for speaking out against a horrific policy. Palm Beach County commissioners must immediately stop using more than a billion dollars in public taxpayer funds to bankroll death, enable war crimes, and finance the slaughter of innocent children,” reads a statement by Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, communications director for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
“Dumping our community’s hard-earned resources into these toxic, high-risk Israeli bonds makes our local government directly complicit in catastrophic human suffering,” he added.
Palm Beach County, home to US President Donald Trump, has a $1 billion investment in Israeli bonds, the largest of any US locality. Israeli bonds have faced growing controversy in the US and have become a target of pro-Palestinian protesters. The bonds are used as quick loans and cash infusions to the Israeli government.
US investment in Israeli bonds grew significantly following the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israeli military outposts and civilian settlements within and around the Gaza envelope, after the Israeli government encouraged international investment into their bonds.
“For the third consecutive year, Israel Bonds has roughly doubled its typical annual sales prior to 2023,” said Dani Naveh, president and CEO of Israel Bonds, in a December 2025 press release.
“This record-breaking momentum reflects sustained global confidence in Israel’s economy. Investing in Israel Bonds is both a financial decision and a meaningful way to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. We play an important part in Israel’s economic resilience,” Naveh said.
The surge in US investment in Israel’s bonds has also been met with growing resistance. Some advocates have called for them to register as a foreign agent, while some municipalities have moved toward divesting from them bonds.
Erakat was released on bond on the same day as her arrest. As she was removed from the venue in handcuffs, she reportedly said, “This is what happens when you try to exercise basic free speech.”