New York City’s Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said in a television interview on Sunday that he does not believe the city’s pension funds should be invested in Israel Bonds because of the country’s violations of international law.
During an interview on CBS New York’s The Point with Marcia Kramer, Kramer asked Mamdani if he would ask those who are in charge of the city’s pensions to divest from companies doing business with Israel or from Israel Bonds. NYC has historically had sizeable investments in both.
“I think that we should not have a fund that is invested in the violation of international law,” Mamdani told Kramer.
He went on to say that current NYC comptroller Brad Lander had taken the “right approach” with regard to Israeli bonds.
“I think that the current comptroller’s approach as he has taken it with Israel Bonds is the right approach,” he added.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Kramer persisted in asking Mamdani about his position on divesting from other companies that do business with Israel.
“And what about the other companies?” she said. “The companies that do business with Israel? BDS”.
Mamdani avoided addressing the question directly, instead saying that it was important to understand where the city was “directly implicated”.
“I think the most important thing is to figure out where we are directly implicated, and in the city pension fund, purchasing Israel Bonds, that to me, is something that is a clear indication of our values, and we know that our values are actually with international law,” he said.
As of March last year, the New York State Common Retirement Fund held about $352m in Israel Bonds. It is one of the top US-based investors in the bonds.
Mamdani also told Kramer he had repeatedly said over the course of his primary campaign that he believes wherever the current administration violates international law through its policies, it should return to compliance.
Already out
NYC’s pension funds comprise five funds, including the New York Employees’ Retirement System, the New York City Fire Pension Fund, the New York City Police Pension Fund, the New York City Teachers’ Retirement System, and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System.
The city’s pension funds’ total assets are worth $289bn and are overseen by the city’s comptroller.
NYC had a 50-year record of pension funds investing in Israel Bonds until 2023, when current comptroller Lander changed course.
Lander, who took office in 2022, decided not to purchase new Israel Bonds when $30m of the bonds matured in early 2023, citing a city policy of avoiding foreign sovereign debt and a desire not to give Israel preferential treatment over other countries in the pension portfolio.
After Lander’s revelation in July, his decision sparked controversy and backlash, with accusations that he had capitulated to the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Lander maintains his decision was not political.
NYC’s pension fund continues to have $315m invested in Israeli firms and real estate.
Meanwhile, Mamdani continued making waves over the weekend after joining Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at a town hall in the borough of Brooklyn on Saturday, with an estimated 1,700 people in attendance.
The event, which was held at Sanders’ alma mater, Brooklyn College, was part of Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.
The night focused on wrestling back economic and political power from corporate and “oligarchic” interests.
While Mamdani has come under criticism for sounding more centrist in recent weeks, he returned to his grassroots positions by condemning the City University of New York’s decision to fire four professors for their pro-Palestine views in his opening speech at the event with Sanders.