NYC Comptroller Mark Levine Faces Questions After Declining to Restore Israel Bonds Purchases, Reversing a Campaign Pledge
Israel Bonds CEO Dani Naveh tells Fox Business the city's office learned of the decision from the news and that the numbers do not justify it. Levine says the decision is financial and that purchases remain under evaluation.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine is under scrutiny for not restoring city purchases of Israel Bonds, a practice that ran for nearly 50 years. Fox Business reports that Levine reportedly reversed a campaign pledge, and that the head of Israel Bonds disputes his financial reasoning.
The background. City investments in Israel Bonds began in 1974. Former Comptroller Brad Lander stopped renewing purchases when holdings matured in 2023. Israel Bonds were first issued in 1951. Fox says critics are asking whether the Mamdani administration's stance on Israel influenced Levine's decision. Nothing in the report shows that it did.
Levine's explanation. He told The New York Times, "I always said this would be based on financial considerations only, not politics." Fox says he later said purchases remain under evaluation and pointed to a city rule change on the short-term investment desk. Fox asked his office for the financial analysis behind the reversal, and whether other investments offered better returns. His office had not responded by publication time.
The other side. Israel Bonds President and CEO Dani Naveh told Fox Business his organization "learned of the comptroller's decision when it was reported." He cited published rates of 5.52% on three-year bonds, 6.02% on five-year and 6.44% on ten-year, and said Israel has never missed a principal or interest payment on its bonds in 75 years. He also said more than 44 American local, state and municipal governments, including New York State, had put nearly $4 billion into Israel Bonds since Oct. 7, 2023. Mark Goldfeder, CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said of Levine's explanation, "I have the math, and he is wrong."
What Fox flags as unclear. The decision concerns the city, not the state. Fox says published reporting points to a discretionary pool under Levine's control. Declining new purchases does not reduce existing pension benefits, but it is not clear whether treasury funds, pension assets or both are affected, or whether pension trustees and unions were consulted. Fox also notes that the credit ratings Naveh cites are for Israel's sovereign debt, not for Israel Bonds products themselves, which are not rated.
Note for readers: the returns, growth forecasts and ratings come from Naveh, who runs the organization selling the bonds, and from Goldfeder. We did not check them independently, and Levine's office has not given its numbers.