NYC comptroller reverses campaign pledge, rules out Israel Bonds – Israel & Jewish News

(Oct. 14, 2026 / JNS)

On Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog awarded a Presidential Medal of Honor to Israel Bonds in a ceremony in Jerusalem, during which he praised its “outstanding work” that “serves as a solid confirmation that despite attempts to isolate us, the people of Israel never stand alone.”

Two days later, on Wednesday, Mark Levine, New York City comptroller, told The New York Times that the city will not invest in Israel Bonds, citing concerns about their investment strength.

“In his 10th month in office, Mark Levine has decided not to reinvest in Israeli Bonds, breaking a campaign promise on a particularly fraught issue,” wrote New York Times City Hall reporter Sally Goldenberg. “He said he still supports Israel but that the bonds aren’t strong enough investments.”

Levine, who is Jewish, oversees investments for the city’s five public pension funds that hold more than $326 billion in assets. In 2023, his predecessor, Brad Lander, who is Jewish and who has accused Israel of “genocide,” allowed the city’s longstanding investment in Israel Bonds to lapse by declining to renew bonds that had matured.

At the ceremony in Jerusalem on Monday, Herzog said that “the proceeds from Israel bonds have been used to build and develop our economy, to promote advancements in science and technology and to provide a vital network of support during times of crisis.”

“This has never been more evident than during the past few years of uncertainty, loss and courage, here in Israel, since Oct. 7,” the Israeli president said. “The outstanding work by Israel Bonds raised $1 billion of capital in the first month following Oct. 7, and more than $8.5 billion since that dark day. To us, this serves as a solid confirmation that despite attempts to isolate us, the people of Israel never stand alone. In fact, over the past 75 years, more than $58 billion worth of Israel bonds have been purchased around the world, solidifying Israel’s long-term standing in the global market and demonstrating the trust investors have in Israel.”

“We have repaid that trust, never once defaulting, as I am certain we will continue to do,” he said.

In July, Dani Naveh, president and CEO of Development Corporation for Israel, the U.S. broker-dealer known as Israel Bonds, told JNS that his organization was in ongoing discussions with Levine. Investment in Israel Bonds has more than doubled since Oct. 7, 2023, Naveh said.

At the time, a spokesman for Levine’s office told JNS that investment decisions were based on financial considerations, not politics.

“These are complex investment matters—not political ones,” the comptroller’s spokesman said at the time. “We continue to use a rigorous review process to assess portfolio needs and work closely with our fellow trustees across each of our pension boards. Our approach is guided by our fiduciary responsibility to protect the long-term interests of our members and beneficiaries.”

Some $300 million in New York City pension funds reportedly remains invested in Israeli equities, along with a smaller amount in Israeli real estate.

Public pension investment decisions are subject to fiduciary duties, requiring officials and trustees to act in the interests of beneficiaries. Levine’s office serves as investment adviser to the city’s five pension systems, whose boards make asset allocation decisions with input from investment professionals.

“Comptroller Levine pledged many times to restore New York City’s investment in Israel Bonds and had it right when he called them ‘a long-term safe and secure investment.’ That remains true,” Nate Miller, a spokesman for Israel Bonds, told JNS. “The State of Israel has made every payment of principal and interest on its bonds, on time, since 1951, including every payment owed to New York City’s pension funds over nearly 50 years.”

“Many of Israel Bonds investors around the world, including many local governments across the United States, continue to make clear that Israel Bonds deliver a strong and steady return. Since October 2023, institutional and retail investors have bought more than $8.5 billion in Israel Bonds,” Miller said. “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.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he welcomes the comptroller’s decision.

“It is something that I’ve said in the past that I don’t believe that our city should purchase Israel Bonds,” the mayor, who is a frequent critic of the Jewish state, said. “We don’t purchase the bonds of any other sovereign nation. I don’t think that we should make an exception when it comes to Israel.”

“This is the decision that the comptroller is making, and it’s one that I support,” he said.

New York state has $360 million invested in Israel Bonds under state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who recently won a decisive primary victory over candidates who advocated divestment from Israel.

In June, the Anti-Defamation League released an analysis estimating that if New York City divests from companies that conduct business with and in Israel, it could cause more than $37 billion in taxpayer “potential forgone value” between 2025 and 2035. The estimate was based on historical performance differences between hypothetical investment portfolios, not on divestment from Israel Bonds alone.

Several commentators criticized Levine’s decision.

Peter Sterne, news and opinion editor at City & State New York, wrote that “policy-wise, this isn’t surprising,” given that New York City does not invest in foreign government bonds and Israel’s ongoing multi-front war could affect perceptions of its sovereign debt risk. “But politically, it’s an earthquake,” he wrote.

Jon Levine, of the Washington Free Beacon, called it “a nakedly political concession to Mamdani from Mark Levine, who ran for office promising the exact opposite—genuinely stunned.”

Dov Hikind, a former New York state Assembly member, criticized the decision as “a perfect example of a coward: a sellout and a fraud trying to appease the dangerous lunatics on the left driving N.Y. and the country off a cliff. Shame on you.”