2025-07-14 19:22 <br/> Tags: #Finance #Israel #AmericanJewry ![[image-49.png|325x284]] # Israel Bonds - The Development Corporation for Israel, known as Israel bonds, is the US based entity which issues Israeli bonds. - Israel Bonds was formed in 1951 by [[David Ben-Gurion]] after meeting in Jerusalem with influential American Jews. - [[Henry Morgenthau Jr.]] was critical in persuading Ben Gurion to adopt the bond project. - [[Samuel Rothberg]] was involved in founding Israel bonds and established its working connection to [[United Jewish Appeal (UJA)]]. - Israel Bonds was initially a vehicle for the Jewish Diaspora to fund the Israeli government. - They still serve this function however the bonds are now sold in huge quantities to various institutional buyers as well. - After launching Israel Bonds, Ben Gurion went on a bond drive in the united states with the goal of raising $25 million. $35 million was raised at the Madison Square Garden inaugural ceremony alone, with a total of $52 million for the initial drive. *[[David Ben-Gurion]] and American Jewish arms smuggler [[Rudolf Sonneborn]] at the 1951 Madison Square Garden inaugural ceremony* ![[THE MATRIX/images/image-48.png|451x254]] - Israel Bonds capitalizes off of Israeli national crises, rallying the Diaspora for increased bond sales. - During the [[1967 Six Day War]] $250 million was raised. - During the [[1973 Yom Kippur War]] $500 million was raised. - During the [[First Gulf War]] $1 billion was raised. - Since [[October 7th]] (1 year 9 months as of writing) over $5 billion has been raised. - After [[October 7th]] and the ensuing [[Gaza War]], many US states both Republican and Democrat went into overdrive buying Israeli bonds. - Palm Beach county, which has a very concentrated and very wealthy Jewish population, bought an additional $135 million in Israeli bonds after October 7. - This investment and others like it are legally conflicting as Florida requires a AAA or AA rated foreign issuer which Israel does not meet. Israel's bond rating is Baa1, the lowest level still considered investment grade. - As of 2024 Israel Bonds had raised ~$52 billion dollars. ![[image-52.png|348x232]] *Palm Beach County October 2023 announcement of $135 million Israeli bonds purchase.* #### References - **“Israel Bonds: The FBI File.”** _Israel Lobby Archive_. Accessed July 14, 2025. [https://www.israellobby.org/israel_bonds/default.asp](https://www.israellobby.org/israel_bonds/default.asp). - **“Israel Bonds,”** _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Bonds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Bonds). - Fitch Ratings. “Israel’s Sovereign Rating Downgrade Report.” February 2024. - Moody’s Investors Service. “Israel Sovereign Rating Downgrade.” 2024. - NPR. “States, Cities Invest in Israel Bonds amid War.” November 2023. https://www.npr.org. - Associated Press. “Israel Bonds Face Questions as States Invest.” October 2023. https://apnews.com. - _Haaretz_. “U.S. States Buy Billions in Israel Bonds after October 7.” November 2023. https://www.haaretz.com. - _The Forward_. “Israel Bonds in Crisis.” December 2023. https://forward.com. - Jewish Virtual Library. “Israel Bonds.” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-bonds. - Development Corporation for Israel (Israel Bonds). “History of Israel Bonds.” https://www.israelbonds.com. - Jewish Virtual Library. “United Jewish Appeal.” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-jewish-appeal.