Help promote human rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Donate Today
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Envelope
Search
Close this search box.
  • English
  • العربية
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • USA
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • Jordan
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
      • China
      • Yemen: Toward Sustainable Peace and Democracy
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
    • DAWN Foreign Policy Blueprint
  • Experts
  • Latest
Menu
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • USA
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • Jordan
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
      • China
      • Yemen: Toward Sustainable Peace and Democracy
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
    • DAWN Foreign Policy Blueprint
  • Experts
  • Latest
Donate

U.S.: Israel Bonds Should Register as Foreign Agent Representing State of Israel

June 22, 2023
in DAWN, Feature, Israel-Palestine, Press Release Israel-Palestine, Press Releases, USA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Department of Justice Should Investigate Israel Bonds' Failure to Register under FARA, Impose Sanctions

(Washington D.C., June 22, 2023) – The Development Corporation of Israel for Israel/Israel Bonds (commonly known as "Israel Bonds") appears to be  an unregistered foreign agent in violation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) and should be investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ), said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) in a referral filed to the FARA Unit at the DOJ. For decades, Israel Bonds has raised billions of dollars and lobbied to change American laws to support the political and public interests of the government of Israel by targeting the American public, while avoiding the mandatory oversight and transparency the foreign agent statute requires.

"Israel Bonds is a sophisticated operation to enlist American public support for Israel's political projects while dodging the minimal transparency and scrutiny our laws require," said Adam Shapiro, Director of Advocacy, Israel/Palestine, at DAWN. "Americans need to know that foreign government agents are lobbying to change U.S. laws and to solicit their political and financial support for Israel's occupation, apartheid policies and human rights abuses."

Israel Bonds, the U.S. based underwriter of debt securities issued by israel, was launched in 1951 and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1955 as a brokerage to raise funds from the Jewish community – first in the United States, and then around the world – in the early years of the State of Israel, which was struggling financially at the time. Since then, Israel Bonds has developed into a full-time operation with branch offices across the United States, exclusively selling Israeli government issued bonds not only to individuals, but also to investment funds, pension funds, civic and religious institutions, and local state governments. According to the Israel Bonds website, an "Israel bond is a loan you can make to the State of Israel" and is "backed by the full faith and credit of the State of Israel."

Israel Bonds appears to be a foreign agent acting on behalf of Israel, representing the public and political interests of the state to the American public. Israel Bonds, at the direction and control of the Israeli government, acts as a publicity agent for Israel; promotes the public and political interests of Israel; and disperses government-issued bonds for Israel in the United States. These are elements that constitute a "foreign agent" according to FARA, and for which there is no commercial exemption. The funds raised by the sale of the bonds go to the general budget of the State of Israel. The operating budget of the State of Israel is used for political purposes, including illegal settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israel Bonds effectively serves as a slush fund for the Israeli government, deposited into the general account of the Israeli treasury. Douglas Bloomfield, a lobbyist and former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) legislative affairs director, cites a former Treasury Ministry official telling him that the money raised by Israel Bonds "is fungible and not earmarked," in a recent op-ed in the Jerusalem Post. A longtime investor in Israel Bonds, Bloomfield notes, "If buying Bonds was a traditional way of showing support for the State of Israel, refusing to buy Bonds can demonstrate disapproval of [the government's] settlement and annexation policies." In testimony to the Minnesota Investment Board in 2015, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk noted that "American money plunged into Israel Bond sales is fungible, meaning that the money is lumped into Israel's General Fund, and then used for anything Israel wants, without restriction. That also means that the money sent to Israel is used for settlements," which, he noted, were illegal under international law and were also considered illegal by the U.S. government.

In addition to sales to individuals, Israel Bonds pursues investments from state-run pension funds across the United States. As often noted by Israel Bonds officials, purchases are intended both as financial investments and as political expressions of support. In May 2022, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague announced the purchase of $22.5 million of Israel bonds. Applauding the move, Steven Greenberg, Israel Bonds Cleveland Advisory Council General Chairman, said, "This is a vote of confidence in Israel's dynamic economy and an expression of advocacy for the State of Israel" [emphasis added].

In 2004, Israel Bonds lobbied successfully to have four U.S. states – Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey and New Mexico – change their laws to allow the purchase of bonds issued by foreign governments. In 2019, Mississippi also changed its regulations on where it could invest state funds, seemingly in response to lobbying by Israel Bonds. 

Israel Bonds organizes events around the United States, a speakers' bureau, and advertising, including on social media platforms solely to promote the sale of the bonds to the American public. These appeals are largely devoid of investment information or arguments for the financial benefit for the investor. In May 2023, Israel Bonds held an online event to promote sales to mark Israel's 75th anniversary. Early in the program (2:27 – 2:43), a short promotional video shows a map of Israel without any demarcation of Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), indicating that the entirety of the land is the State of Israel. Among those appearing in the video program are: a singing group from the Israeli military, dressed in military uniform (6:25 – 10:38); Israeli President Isaac Herzog (11:08 – 13:14); and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (13:30 – 15;11). The speakers do not make an economic argument for investing, rather, as Netanyahu states, "it's investment in our common bond and that is what Israel Bonds is so important for. It allows us to keep a network of committed people, committed to the State of Israel, to the one and only Jewish state, to our common future."

On Sunday, March 12, Israel Bonds Conference held its 2023 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, and hosted Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The annual conference brings together U.S. business, political, government, and community leaders to promote the sale of State of Israel issued bonds. Normally attended by U.S. government officials, the Biden Administration announced that no officials would attend this year due to Smotrich's remarks following attacks on the Palestinian town of Hawara, in which he said, "I think that the town of Hawara needs to be erased. The State of Israel needs to do it." As Finance Minister, Smotrich oversees the Israeli treasury, into which Israel Bonds money is deposited.

Worldwide sales of Israel Bonds have exceeded $48 billion since 1951, and in 2022, sales in the United States amounted to over $1 billion.

DAWN calls on the Department of Justice to investigate Israel Bonds and enforce the Foreign Agent Registration Act, including imposing punitive measures per the statute.

Source: 05 September 2019, Israel, Tel Aviv: Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Minister of Transport and member of the Knesset for the Union of the Right-Wing Parties, speaks at the Channel 12 News Conference in Tel Aviv. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa (Photo by Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Tags: Israel BondsJustice DepartmentPensionsState of Israel
Previous Post

With Lebanon's Economic Collapse, Syrian Refugees Become Scapegoats

Next Post

Jordan: End Campaign of Extraterritorial Attacks on Peaceful Activists in Exile

Related Posts

UNITED STATES - MAY 26: Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., walks through the Senate subway in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Advocacy

U.S.: Suspend Military Aid to Egypt in Wake of Menendez Indictment for Corruption by Egyptian Government

(Washington, D.C., September 23, 2023): The U.S. government immediately should suspend all military aid to Egypt pending the indictment...

DAWN
September 23, 2023
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, ABU DHABI - JANUARY 17: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan speaking with an attendee during the 2012  World Future Energy Summit - Day Two held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on January 17, 2012 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The World Future Energy Summit annual four-day event draws major players in the renewable energy world and provides a showcase for the latest developments in clean energy technologies. (Photo by Sean Blake/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Advocacy

Over 200 Organizations Demand Action on UAE Human Rights Abuses Before COP28 Climate Talks

COP28 should be used to shine the global spotlight on the human rights violations perpetrated against communities inside the...

DAWN
September 13, 2023
Advocacy

Rights Groups Demand Immediate Release of US-Based Scholar Elizabeth Tsurkov Kidnapped in Iraq

The Iraqi government should take steps to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a US-based scholar...

DAWN
September 13, 2023
Ubai al-Aboudi, director of the Bisan Centre for Research and Development and user of one of six devices reportedly hacked with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, speaks during a press conference at the offices of al-Haq Centre for Applied International Law in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 8, 2021. - An investigation by a European rights group published on November 8 found that Israeli-made Pegasus spyware was used to hack the phones of staff of Palestinian civil society groups targeted by Israel. The revelations by Frontline Defenders -- confirmed by Amnesty International and the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab -- mark the latest development in the widening controversy surrounding six prominent Palestinian groups designated as "terrorist" organisations by Israel's defence ministry last month. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)
Advocacy

Israel Continues to Violate Rights of Palestinian-American Human Rights Defender Ubai Al-Aboudi

On Wednesday, August 30, Ubai Aboudi, Director of the Palestinian civil society organization Bisan Center for Research and Development,...

DAWN
September 7, 2023
Next Post
ZARQA, JORDAN - MARCH 10: U.S Vice President Joe Biden (R) visits with Jordan's King Abdullah (L) at a joint Jordanian-American training center on March 10, 2016 in Zarqa northeast of Amman, Jordan. This is the final stop on Biden's Middle East tour that also took in Israel and the Palestinian territories. (Photo by Jordan Pix/Getty Images)

Jordan: End Campaign of Extraterritorial Attacks on Peaceful Activists in Exile

UNITED STATES - MAY 26: Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., walks through the Senate subway in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

U.S.: Suspend Military Aid to Egypt in Wake of Menendez Indictment for Corruption by Egyptian Government

September 23, 2023

Derna's Man-Made Disaster and the Tragedy of Libya's Fate

September 21, 2023

After Morocco's Earthquake, Will Amazigh Life in the High Atlas Ever Be the Same?

September 20, 2023

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Aid Conditionality
  • Anonymous Interviews
  • Anonymous Interviews Egypt
  • Anonymous Interviews Saudi Arabia
  • Anonymous Interviews UAE
  • Cases
  • Cases Egypt
  • Cases Saudi Arabia
  • Cases UAE
  • China's Uyghur Repression
  • Countries
  • Culprits
  • Culprits Egypt
  • Culprits Israel
  • Culprits Saudi Arabia
  • Culprits UAE
  • DAWN
  • DAWN Foreign Policy Blueprint
  • Dawn's Advocacy
  • Democracy In Exile
  • Editor's Pick
  • Egypt
  • Feature
  • Fellows
  • Foreign Policy
  • Human Rights
  • Human Rights Go to War
  • International Actors
  • Israel-Palestine
  • Joint Letters
  • Jordan
  • Lobbyists
  • Lobbyists Israel Palestine
  • Palestine
  • Political prisoners
  • Press Release Egypt
  • Press Release Israel-Palestine
  • Press Release Jordan
  • Press Release Saudi Arabia
  • Press Release UAE
  • Press Releases
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • US – Egypt
  • US – Saudi Arabia
  • US – UAE
  • USA
  • Yemen Conference

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

Donate Today

About Us

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is a nonprofit organization that promotes democracy, the rule of law, and human rights for all of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Support Us

Donate Now

Newsletter

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube

© DAWN All rights reserved. | Website Design by KRS Creative.

DONATE TODAY