The Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community (CPAC) celebrates Cuyahoga County’s decision to end its bond investments, including $3 million in Israel Bonds, a move that redirects these funds back for the county’s needs. This decision, announced earlier today, marks a step toward responsible financial policy and a rejection of investments that support systemic human rights violations.

“I know $3 million is only a fraction of the county’s total investment in Israel Bonds,” said Dr. Shereen Naser, a CPAC advocate. “But that’s $3 million less funding the military occupation that restricts my family’s freedom and opportunities and sends bombs to Palestinian schools, and $3 million more that can be used to benefit our own communities here in Cuyahoga County.”

Since April 2024, CPAC and over 3,000 petition signers have called on Cuyahoga County to divest from Israel Bonds, citing financial, ethical, and legal concerns. Advocates have highlighted the significant downgrades in Israel’s credit ratings, the illiquidity of Israel Bonds due to their inability to be resold, and the moral implications of financing a state that the International Criminal Court has found to be plausibly committing genocide. In the January 24th Investment Advisory Committee meeting the county’s investment advisors, Meeder Investment Management, confirmed that Israel Bonds are currently the riskiest investment in the county’s portfolio. Additionally, numerous international organizations have condemned Israel’s long-standing apartheid policies against Palestinians.

Throughout this advocacy campaign, Palestinian and allied Cuyahoga County residents have faced antiPalestinian racism from Israel Bond supporters. Supporters of the bonds have employed racist stereotypes portraying Arab as uncivilized and dangerous to justify continued investments in Israel. Furthermore, despite public outcry, the county executive has repeatedly refused to meet with advocates while simultaneously accepting fully funded trips to Israel sponsored by organizations with vested interests in maintaining financial and political support for the Israeli government.

Robin Schaer, a member of Cleveland's Jewish Voice for Peace added “As a member of the Cleveland Jewish community, I’m relieved that Cuyahoga County is prioritizing financial stability and freezing foreign investments, including those in Israel Bonds. Funding Israel is falsely justified as supporting the Jewish community — but we are all better served by our tax dollars invested locally, where we live, rather than poured in the foreign coffers of a violent and repressive regime."

Cuyahoga County has a history of marking their Palestinian residents as invisible in favor of the Israeli state, ignoring Israel's subjugation and oppression of Palestinans and continuously sending elected public officials on paid trips to Israel, conducting a police exchange program with the Israeli military, and naming sister cities in Israel. All while Israel commits astounding numbers of human rights abuses against Palestinians, including Palestinian Americans from Cuyahoga County. 

The Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community commends Cuyahoga County for following the lead of neighboring counties, such as Summit County, in halting these financially unsound and morally indefensible investments. CPAC looks forward to collaborating with county leadership to develop financial policies that prioritize creative reinvestment in local communities rather than supporting apartheid and human rights abuses abroad.