NYC comptroller hails city’s economic ties with Israel after ditching Israel Bonds

NEW YORK — New York City Comptroller Mark Levine hailed the economic relationship between the city and Israel on Thursday, a day he announced that the city will not reinvest in Israel Bonds.

“The economic relationship between New York City and Israel is deeply important, bringing substantial investment into our city and generating strong returns for our pension funds,” Levine, who is Jewish, said in a statement.

He said that New York City invests more than $285 million in Israel, mostly in equities. The city’s pension funds have a value of more than $300 billion.

“Israel remains one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative economies, and those holdings remain an important part of our portfolio. They also make clear that New York City’s pension funds are not engaging in BDS,” Levine said, referring to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Levine is a moderate Democrat who is closely connected to the Jewish community. He a supporter of Israel and a critic of the Netanyahu government.

He had pledged to reinvest in Israel bonds during last year’s campaign for comptroller, but reneged on that commitment on Wednesday.

He said that the decision against reinvesting, a longstanding issue in the city, was motivated by financial concerns, not politics.

Anti-Israel groups have long called on the city to divest from Israel Bonds and celebrated his Wednesday announcement. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an anti-Zionist, also said he “welcomed” the decision.

Levine added on Thursday that the city was unable to purchase the bonds partly due to a rules change regarding short-term investments made by the previous comptroller, Brad Lander.

Lander, also Jewish, is a leftist critic of Israel who identifies as a “liberal Zionist” but is an ally of Mamdani.

While comptroller, Lander left the city’s $40 million in Israel bonds to mature, without reinvesting, in 2023.

Levine said the city continues to evaluate investing in Israel bonds.

“Anyone suggesting that this means I am giving up on Israel is trying to turn the ordinary rebalancing and management of a pension portfolio into a political issue,” Levine said. “That is simply not the case. Our commitment to investing in Israel remains clear in the hundreds of millions of dollars in Israeli equities that our pension funds continue to hold.”

“Like many Jewish New Yorkers, my deep personal connection to Israel is a part of who I am. It will not change. As New York City comptroller, I also have a solemn duty to safeguard our city’s pension funds, and I will not shirk that responsibility,” he said.

Levine is a prominent player in city politics and well-known in the Jewish community.

The comptroller is viewed as the second-highest elected position in city government, and before becoming comptroller, Levine was the Manhattan borough president. As comptroller, Levine is responsible for the city’s financial policy.

Mainstream Jewish groups did not criticize his decision against reinvesting in the bonds, and thanked him for his Thursday statement or shared the comments.

“Sound financial stewardship and a strong New York–Israel relationship can and should go hand in hand,” the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York said.

“We welcome [Levine’s] statement reaffirming the importance of the economic relationship between New York City and Israel,” the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said.

Israeli companies have a significant economic footprint in New York City. A report late last year found that 600 Israeli-founded companies have created more than 27,000 jobs in the city, generating billions of dollars for its economy.