It is the story of two investment strategies.
New York City Director and mayoral candidate Brad Lander are accused of “selling” the city pension fund from Israeli government bonds.
New York City first invested $30 million in Israeli bonds in 1974 under former city director Harrison Goldin, via the Teacher Retirement Pension System, a pension fund for educators.
Over the years, successive city secretaries Bill Thompson, John Liu and Scott Stringer have reinvested in Israeli bond states when bonds mature.
The New York state pension system, run by state secretary Tom DiNapolis, has invested $363.9 million in the Jewish state.
Israeli bonds are considered robust investments, with records showing that they accumulate an average annual return of around 5%.
However, Lander's Office said the pension fund for New York City officials (the municipality with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel) is now at $1.17 million.
In Israeli Yankee Debt, the Police Pension Fund only owns a small position of $1.17 million.
Lander's Office argued that New York City's pension funds did not directly invest in foreign sovereign liabilities.
But Israeli bond investors said Lander was full of it — because the former director has it.
Former Cuny trustee and Israeli bond investor Jeffrey Wiesenfeld accused Lander of engaging in “passive defense” by not reinvesting in Israeli bonds when it expires.
“Lander is selling from Israel for political reasons. He wants to form an alliance with his pro-jihad, anti-Israel terms,” Wiesenfeld said.
He also argued that Lander is in violation of his fiduciary duties as Israeli debts are bringing positive benefits to investors.
In comparison, Weisenfeld was called the “special mensch” to stand up against Israel during the war with Hamas in Gaza.
“I and many Republicans praise Tom DiNapolis for his personal fairness and decency, the attributes that make him unique in New York politics. He's a special Mensch,” Wiesenfeld said of the Democrats.
Dinapoli, the sole trustee of the state pension fund, invested $363.9 million in Israeli bonds. This includes $327.1 million in development Corp. for Israeli debt and $36.8 million in Israeli debt.
Before Lander became director, the latter spokesperson said while his predecessor, Stringer, took office in 2014-2021, was in office from 2014-2021, the city's pension fund was invested in Israeli bonds as part of the office's global fixed portfolio.
Stringer is facing Lander in the mayoral Democratic primary. He declined to comment on Israeli portfolio, which is plunging under Lander.
The votes of Israeli Jewish voters and critics of the Jewish state were able to determine who won the mayor's Democratic primary.
When asked through a spokesman whether the officials and representatives of the pension committee he serves had decided not to reinvest in Israeli bonds when they matured.
However, he stressed that he did not support the BDS movement to sell from Israel.
“Comptroller Lander does not support or support boycotts, sales or sanctions against Israel,” the spokesman said.
“New York City pension funds do not invest directly in foreign bonds, but they invest in the debt and equity positions of many Israeli-owned companies.
Lander raised an eyebrow at his position by investing in Israeli bonds when asked at a forum hosted by the New York Progressive Action Network last month.
“That's exactly the kind of investment we don't have, so there are no Israeli bonds. First reported by Daily News.
