If elected mayor of New York, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani intends to end the city’s investments in Israeli government bonds, he said Sunday.
“We should not have a fund that invests in violations of international law,” Mamdani told CBS News. “The current comptroller’s approach, as he applied it with Israeli bonds, is the right approach.”
When asked whether he would also divest from private companies that have business ties to Israel, Mamdani, who is leading in the polls and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, said the priority was addressing direct municipal involvement.
“The most important thing is to understand where we are directly implicated within the city pension fund,” he said. “A pension fund that purchases Israeli bonds, in my view, is clearly an indication of a conflict with our values, and we know that our values are actually within the framework of international law.”
In January 2023, outgoing City Comptroller Brad Lander ended New York City’s decades-long practice of investing in Israeli government bonds.
Lander, who is Jewish, assumed office in January 2022, when the city’s pension funds held $39 million in Israeli bonds yielding about 5%. As chief financial officer overseeing the pension system, he chose not to reinvest in new bonds after the existing ones matured.
Lander said the move aligned with the city’s policy to avoid foreign sovereign debt and aimed to treat Israel the same as other countries without special preference in its investment portfolio.
The decision drew criticism from several Jewish organizations. Mamdani, who has pledged to reduce the city’s economic ties with the Israeli government, voiced his support.
“I think this is the right approach,” he said.
Stopping short at BDS
Mamdani stopped short of endorsing the broader demands of the BDS movement, however, which calls for full divestment from Israeli companies.
As of May, New York City pension funds still held more than $315m. in Israel-based assets, including nearly $300m. in common stocks and more than $1m. in Israeli real-estate investment trusts.
“The most important thing is to understand where we are directly implicated,” Mamdani said. “And in the municipal pension fund, purchasing Israeli bonds is, for me, a clear indication of our values, and we know that our values are, in fact, consistent with international law.”
In response, Israel Bonds president and CEO Dan Naveh said: “While we do not comment on statements made by candidates, what I can say is this: Israel Bonds is proud of the unprecedented outpouring of support.”
“More than $5.5 billion in investments [were made] since [the October 7 massacre], including major commitments from local governments, including the State of New York,” he said. “The record-breaking investments we have seen in recent years demonstrate the confidence that Americans have in Israel’s strength and future.”