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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Miami skyline (Photo by Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution last week toward the start of a seven-hour meeting, in a unanimous, single vote that grouped together numerous ordinances. This action enables the county to invest up to 5%, rather than 3%, of its $9 billion in investments in these bonds \u2014 debt issued by the Israeli government sold by a U.S. underwriter.<\/p>\n
Despite the previous cap of 3%, Israeli bonds only make up about 1.48% of Miami-Dade\u2019s portfolio, or roughly $130 million, according to the county\u2019s third-quarter investment report. <\/p>\n
Known as \u201cIsrael Bonds,\u201d these loans are deeply rooted in the Diaspora\u2019s relationship with the country. Israel, like many countries, raises money by selling bonds to investors, who then receive repayments with interest after a specified time period. But for American Jews, these bonds are issued via the U.S.-based Development Corporation for Israel, which has served as the underwriter since 1951. <\/p>\n
As for Miami-Dade, the county began purchasing Israeli bonds in 2016. But these investments increased substantially just after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. At the time, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that the county would be boosting these investments from $51 million to $76 million. <\/p>\n
Palm Beach County made a similar decision at the time, as did cities, counties and states around the country.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, activists nationwide have increasingly been pushing governments to stop investing in Israel bonds, citing the Jewish state\u2019s military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n
An initiative called \u201cBreak the Bonds,\u201d launched by the progressive Jewish Voice for Peace group, claims that \u201cthe Israeli military is committing a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,\u201d and that community investments in such bonds are enabling the situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when so many people in our community are struggling, we believe our public dollars should be invested in our communities and in meeting the needs of the people who live here,\u201d JVP South Florida said in a statement, prior to last Tuesday\u2019s vote. <\/p>\n
Israel Bonds representatives did not reply to repeated requests for comment. <\/p>\n
Given the resolution\u2019s swift passage, which occurred without a public hearing at the board meeting, detractors signed up to testify about an unrelated item in order to voice their concerns. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy tax dollars should be kept safe and should be working to benefit my community,\u201d Coconut Grove resident Jared Simon, who identified himself as Jewish, told the commissioners.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t even allow public comment on it before voting,\u201d he said. \u201cYour constituents do not want their tax dollars funding the functions of the Israeli government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the lack of public hearing, the commissioners responded that residents already had the opportunity to speak about the resolution during a session earlier this summer. <\/p>\n
That session occurred on July 15, when the Intergovernmental and Economic Impact Committee advanced the rule to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation. <\/p>\n
Among the most prominent speakers to take the podium \u2014 even though he had apparently not registered to do so \u2014 was James Fishback, a far-right former gubernatorial candidate and sharp critic of Israel. Alleging that the commissioners \u201cunanimously voted to give up to $450 million of money to Israel,\u201d Fishback said he\u2019d rather not be \u201cescorted out by these great men in uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you serve the people of Hialeah or of Haifa? Do you serve the people of Aventura or of Tel Aviv?\u201d he asked the commissioners. \u201cDo you serve the people of South Miami or of Jerusalem? This money should be invested here in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the sergeants escorted Fishback out of the auditorium, another individual screamed \u201cAmerica First!\u201d from the audience. <\/p>\n
Oliver Gilbert, one of the commissioners, responded that the \u201cboard today didn\u2019t vote to give any money to anyone,\u201d stressing that they just \u201cset investment criteria.\u201d <\/p>\n
Before Tuesday\u2019s meeting reached its most heated point, Keon Hardemon, another commissioner, told the audience that he and his colleagues \u201cdon\u2019t care what you\u2019re talking about, what subject it is that you don\u2019t like, what you care for, what you don\u2019t care for, what your politics are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are not going to stand for are people who want to make anyone in this room feel uncomfortable,\u201d Hardemon added. <\/p>\n
Yet immediately after this intervention, public outcry over the resolution, known as 11A2, continued. <\/p>\n
Miami resident Mina Trachtenberg argued that county investment policies require the prioritization \u201cof public funds and liquidity of public funds above all else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe resolution passed today achieves the opposite of that, opening the door to the purchase of high-risk, even junk-quality bonds of a foreign entity,\u201d Trachtenberg said. \u201cPlease divest from apartheid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony Rodriguez, the chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, eventually instructed the sergeants in the room to eject anyone who refused to comply with the rules. <\/p>\n
Just after those instructions, Miami resident Mohammed Mohammed came to the podium, voicing his alarm that he was \u201cgoing to be escorted out just for being Palestinian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the case. Let\u2019s not put words in anybody\u2019s mouth,\u201d a visibly frustrated Rodriguez responded. \u201cYou just have to follow the order and speak on the item.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohammed then declared \u201cthat 11A2 is an absolute disgrace,\u201d leading Rodriguez to summon the sergeants and declare that the speakers just \u201cwant their minute of fame.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rule\u2019s sponsor, commissioner Ren\u00e9 Garc\u00eda, explained that the county invests about $9 billion, with the intention of generating \u201ca greater return of money\u201d to fund public needs. Garc\u00eda, a former Republican state senator, explained that the rule simply ensures \u201cmore flexibility and more liquidity\u201d for certain investments. <\/p>\n
In addition to raising the investment cap from 3% to 5%, the resolution would also reduce the maturity of \u201cbonds backed by the full faith and credit of the state of Israel\u201d from five to three years. <\/p>\n
Within that text, the authors also deleted a clause that previously had required Israel to have an \u201cA\u201d credit rating from at least two agencies. That revision stemmed from a recent Florida statute allowing investments in Israel bonds regardless of the country\u2019s rating. This change was particularly noteworthy because credit ratings of Israel have fluctuated in the past few years. <\/p>\n