New York City's chief financial officer to defy Mayor Mamdani by purchasing Israeli bonds
New York City's chief financial officer plans to purchase Israeli bonds despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani's strong opposition to the move.
Mayor Mamdani has publicly backed divestment from the Israeli regime over its ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, however, said he plans to reinvest NYC taxpayers’ money in Israeli bonds based on performance records.
“My fiduciary responsibility is to make investment decisions based on that record of performance,” Levine, the city’s chief financial officer, told the Financial Times on Saturday.
Levine, himself a Jew, claimed he wanted to separate politics from investment strategy to boost the NYC's public pension fund, adding that Israeli bonds had performed very well in the past and paid significant returns to investors.
“The Israel bonds have performed very well and they continue to be investment grade rated, he said.
Approximately 10 percent of New York City's population is Jewish, making the Jews a significant group in the US financial capital.
Mamdani, a long-time critic of the Israeli regime, has publicly called for divestment from Israel over its war against the people in Gaza.
During his election campaign, the Democratic candidate had suggested that New York “should not have a fund that is invested in the violation of international law.”
Critics of Israeli policy against the Palestinians are against bonds, saying such financing supports Israel’s system of apartheid, the expansion of illegal settlements, the forced displacement of Palestinians and the Israeli forces' killing of civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Since taking office, Mayor Mamdani has been praised for his criticism of Israeli moves and defying the Tel Aviv regime.
Within just hours of his January 1 inauguration ceremony, he revoked pro-Israeli decrees banning the activities of pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.
On day one in the office, Mayor Mamdani reversed the executive orders his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, had signed before him.
Mamdani is New York City’s first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born mayor, and the first to take the oath of office using the Holy Quran.
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