In recent weeks, activists have achieved major victories in getting states to divest from Israel Bonds. But what role do Israel bonds play in the Israeli occupation, and how are activists successfully mobilizing?
By Michael Arrira, Reposted from Mondoweiss, December 15, 2025
Last month, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) announced that it will invest an additional $5 million in Israel Bonds, making the school the largest Israeli bondholder among universities worldwide.
“This is a sound financial decision — but equally important, it is a statement of solidarity that reflects our vision for the future,” declared FAU president Adam Hasner in a press release. “As a leading university and a member of the South Florida community, we cannot ignore what is happening to Jewish students across the country, and we are proud of the steps we are taking to become the safest and most welcoming university for Jewish life in America.”
The announcement comes amid growing protests over the issue, as multiple states have divested from the bonds in recent weeks after pressure campaigns from activists.
What are Israel Bonds, what role do they play in the Israeli occupation, and how are activists successfully fighting against them?
What are Israel Bonds?
Israel Bonds are loans to the Israeli treasury that help sustain the country’s economy. In this economic arrangement, the U.S.-based Development Corporation for Israel (DCI) underwrites debt securities issued by the Israeli government.
The idea was devised by Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, when the country faced vast economic challenges.
Israel has consistently appealed to the U.S. Jewish population to invest in the bonds, particularly during times of turmoil in the region and Zionist military campaigns. Between October 7, 2023, and March 2024, Israel received more than $8 billion through Israel bonds.
The sale of Israel Bonds funnels money directly to the country’s economy, which entangles it with apartheid, illegal occupation, and genocide. According to their website, Israel Bonds “play an essential role in Israel’s economic resilience.”
“Breaking ties with Israel Bonds is a tangible, crucial act of solidarity with Palestinians,” declares a US Campaign for Palestinian Rights explainer on the issue.
In 2023, the human rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) called for a Justice Department investigation into whether Israel Bonds, claiming that the underwriter is an unregistered foreign agent.
“Israel Bonds is a sophisticated operation to enlist American public support for Israel’s political projects while dodging the minimal transparency and scrutiny our laws require,” DAWN’s Director of Advocacy for Israel/Palestine, Adam Shapiro, said in a statement at the time. “Americans need to know that foreign government agents are lobbying to change U.S. laws and to solicit their political and financial support for Israel’s occupation, apartheid policies, and human rights abuses.”
Why Israel Bonds have become a divestment target
In recent years, Palestinian activists have drawn attention to Israel’s economic connections to local communities.
“Halting the flow of money to the Israeli military and government deprives these institutions of the material resources that power violence against Palestinians and sends a clear message: until Israel follows international law by ending its illegal apartheid system, illegal military occupation of Palestinian lands, immoral and unlawful attacks on Palestinian civilians, and theft of Palestinian lands–the international community will continue to advocate against investment in the Israeli military, government, and Israeli corporations that enable and profit off of this suffering,” explains Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in a post on the Break the Bonds campaign.
How activists are targeting Israel Bonds
In a 2024 interview with Mondoweiss, Florida activists described how their governments were investing in Israel Bonds while cutting services across communities.
“The reality is very frustrating because we see a lack of public transportation and infrastructure,” said Alice, a local resident and Break the Bonds organizer. “We’re not taking care of our health and well-being of people in the community. We’re not feeding our community. There are so many other ways to invest these dollars.”
Michigan Divest’s Matthew Clark told Mondoweiss that the group was able to mobilize a wide cross-section of residents.
“Unions, educators, pensioners, faith groups, students, people from all walks of life – came together to stand with Palestine and oppose our state’s investment in genocide,” said Clark. “We now have a statewide network of people who are ready to work long-term for divestment.”
Divestment movements are growing throughout the United States, as a result of the genocide in Gaza, and activists are pushing for more victories in the coming months.
Recent Israel Bonds divestment wins
In recent weeks, Palestine activists in multiple states have notched major victories on the Israel Bonds front.
Last month, Michigan’s retirement system divested all state pension investments in Israel Bonds, totaling approximately $10 million.
“This is a significant victory in a growing nationwide trend,” declared Michigan Divest, the coalition that spearheaded the campaign. “State and local governments are increasingly declining investments in Israel Bonds in response to public opposition to Israel’s genocide.”
The North Carolina State Pension Fund recently sold more than $6.4 million in Israeli government bonds. The move comes after a statewide campaign launched by dozens of local organizations.
Minnesota records reveal that the State Board of Investment has quietly sold more than $13 million in Israel Bonds. Local activists have been pushing for action on the issue for years and say their work is just beginning.
States deny they are divesting due to protests; does this matter?
After activists discovered that Israel Bonds had been sold off, the Minnesota State Board of Investment issued a statement insisting that its policies hadn’t changed.
Similarly, North Carolina’s Department of State Treasurer denied any connection between their decision and the BDS campaign.
“The sale of two Israeli government International bonds was not related to a divestment exercise,” they told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The previously held bonds were sold in October during a larger fixed income portfolio rebalancing exercise that sold bonds with shorter remaining maturity than the portfolio typically holds.”
What should we make of such denials?
“The Break the Bonds Coalition first engaged the Treasurer about our concern regarding the Israeli Governmental Bonds in June 2025, well before the bonds were sold,” Ari Rosenberg, a member of the Break the Bonds NC Coalition, told Mondoweiss. “At the time, he shared that the state had not purchased Israeli debt in about 5 years because ‘we don’t find it compelling from a risk and return perspective.’ We completely agree with this analysis, and our campaign continuously reminded the Treasurer of the poor returns of the bonds. We are very confident that the decision to sell the bonds represents the power of people’s voices from across the state who called attention to these problematic investments, with high risk and low return. “
“We know that genocide and apartheid are not a good investment — and the growing wave of city and state divestments across the country demonstrates that more and more people agree,” Rosenberg continued. “North Carolina’s decision to sell its high-risk, low-return Israeli bonds — now valued at $6.7 million — clearly supports the financial health of the pension fund. It’s also the morally right thing to do.”
Michael Arria is a reporter for Mondoweiss.
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