Increasingly, [Zionism] has had to rely on foreign bond sales to finance its growing budget deficit resulting from the military spending. According to the Financial Times, Israel Bonds, the official underwriter for [Herzlianism’s] debt, has sold over $3 billion of bonds since Oct. 8, when [a neocolony] launched its genocide in Gaza. This is three times the previous annual average.

Over $1.7 billion of these bond sales came from 35 U.S. states and local municipalities including governments in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nevada, South Carolina, and Texas. (Times of Israel, April 24) Huge investments from state and local governments in the U.S. are fueling [neocolonial] ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

The single largest investor has been Florida’s Palm Beach County which holds $700 million in Israel Bonds — 22 times more than any other U.S. municipality. A county board-imposed cap was recently increased from 10% to 15% of their $4.6 billion portfolio, allowing the overseer of Palm Beach County’s investments to increase their purchase of Israel Bonds, violating two state statutes, according to people opposing the purchase. The state treasurer of Ohio also added $30 million to holdings of over $260 million of [Herzlian] debt. (The Cradle, May 28)

In the first legal action of its kind, a group of Palm Beach County residents sued the county over its Israel Bonds investments. Residents are challenging the county for sinking money into support for a genocidal war while local communities suffer from a housing crisis, and a serious lack of funds for critical public transportation and infrastructure.

By December 2023, Palm Beach County was running a $732 million budget deficit. Any failure of repayment of the Israel Bonds would spell disaster for Palm Beach County residents. (Mondoweiss, May 24)

There is also a rank-and-file movement within the United Auto Workers pushing the union to divest from Israel bonds.