Both Democrats and Republicans are investing in Israel bonds,” Marlowe said. “It’s really quite remarkable to see this level of agreement on an investment like this.”
Abruzzo, who is a Democrat, is one of the few elected officials who invested in the bonds who would speak with JTA for this article. But he said he knows of others who have made similar investments.
He said the investments show that Americans believe in the strength of the Israeli economy and the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“It’s a way of showing solidarity with our ally,” he said. “It’s a way of supporting a free and democratic society in the Middle East.”
The bonds have a fixed interest rate, generally around 1% higher than U.S. Treasury bonds of the same maturity, according to the Israel Bonds website. They are backed by the faith and credit of the Israeli government, which has never defaulted on an obligation.
Abruzzo said the bonds have been a safe and profitable investment for Palm Beach County in the past, and he expects them to continue to be in the future.
“We’ve made a lot of money through this investment,” he said. “And we’ve made it in a way that supports our values and our allies.”
He said he plans to continue investing in Israel bonds as long as it makes sense for the county financially.
“It’s been a win-win for us,” he said.
The war in Israel and the Palestinian territories has been raging for over six months now, with no end in sight. And while the conflict rages on, the bonds continue to be a popular investment choice for state and local governments across the United States.
Whether this trend will continue remains to be seen, but for now, the bonds remain a symbol of solidarity and support for Israel in the face of ongoing conflict.
As for Abruzzo, he will continue to stand by Israel and its economy, one bond at a time.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “And it’s been a good investment for us.”
And with that, he signed his name on yet another Israel bond.
Joseph Abruzzo.
Palm Beach County.
Florida.
The United States of America.
Israel.
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Regenerate I’m a Republican, but we’ve got a great Treasurer in Franklin County’s Cheryl Brooks Sullivan and she’s a Democrat,” said Ohio state treasurer Robert Sprague in a recent virtual meeting of government investors convened by Israel Bonds, according to Bonds Buyer.
Abruzzo holds the elected office of clerk of the circuit court and comptroller for Palm Beach County, an area with a large and growing Jewish population. People living in Jewish households make up about 15-20% of the county, according to Brandeis University demographic studies released by the county’s two Jewish federations in 2018.
Before serving at the county level, Abruzzo, a Democrat, was a member of the Florida House Representatives and Senate. He sponsored bills to support Holocaust survivors and recognize the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding in 2018.
Abruzzo told JTA he was a quarter Jewish before clarifying he was referring to the results of a genetic ancestry test. He added that his stepmother is Jewish and he grew up in a mixed Italian and Jewish household, with step-brothers who had bar mitzvahs.
“I like to say that one of my grandmothers made the best tomato soup in the world and my stepmother made the best matzo ball soup in the world,” Abruzzo said. “I’m very familiar with Israel and Jewish heritage.”
He began investing in Israel bonds long before the current war. During his first year in office in Palm Beach, he convinced the Board of County Commissioners to double how much he was allowed to invest in Israel bonds from 5% to 10% of the county’s portfolio. But at the time, there were only so many bonds on the market and he couldn’t reach anywhere near the cap.
As Israel went to war and saw its economy contract, the government decided to offer more bonds.
“Fast forward to Oct. 7 and a day or two after that horrific event, I was able to speak with [local Israel Bonds representative] Mark Ruben and we purchased $25 million in bonds,” Abruzzo said. “We got very good rates and were excited about it. We then did the largest single-day purchase, which was $135 million.”
But even that wasn’t enough.
In March, he asked the county board to increase the cap again. In making his case, he pointed out that the county is set to earn $83 million in interest on the bonds, part of what official data shows is dramatically higher performance for the county’s financial portfolio since he took office in 2021.
The board voted unanimously to increase his cap to 15%, which comes out to about $700 million of the $4.7 billion in county coffers.
According to experts, the situation in Palm Beach County is highly unusual.
“I’m not aware of any other jurisdiction that has 15% of their holdings in one type of investment,” Marlowe of the University of Chicago said. “That’s not necessarily good or bad. It’s a decision. It’s a policy choice that they’re making. But it does represent a much greater concentration of risk in any portfolio for a public entity than I’ve seen in a long time.”
Bergstresser, of Brandeis University, said he believes the investment strategy is unusual to the point of being possibly unwise.
“Such a large allocation to one foreign issuer is arguably inconsistent with standard advice about portfolio diversification, particularly when avoiding severe losses is as high of a priority as it is in this situation,” Bergstresser said. “Sovereign issuers do sometimes default on bonds that they have issued. If the State of Israel were to default on these bonds, then Palm Beach County would have to find a way to pay its bills without money that it had counted on being available.”
Abruzzo is up for reelection in November, but with less than two months until the filing deadline, no one else has declared their candidacy, meaning that he is currently running unopposed.
Abruzzo said political calculations are not behind his Israel Bonds investments.
“Every decision was dollars and cents, and financial safety,” he said. “This has nothing to do about an election or personal motives. It was not done for political gain.”
But he did weigh in on a political debate roiling the United States and deepening divides within his party over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. With the White House growing increasingly impatient with the Israeli military’s conduct and the left flank of the Democratic Party accusing Israel of genocide, Abruzzo’s stance reflects a staunchly pro-Israel sentiment that’s still widespread in both parties. He rejected calls for Israel to show more restraint.
“A lot has been said about Israel, especially in the far-left circles of my party, but if what happened in Israel on Oct. 7 happened here in America, the country that was harboring the terrorists would look like the moon’s surface,” Abruzzo said.
In total, Israel’s borrowing, including Israel bonds and other financial vehicles, doubled in 2023 to $43 billion. Meanwhile, billions in charitable donations have also flowed in to support Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The successful fundraising drive for Israel Bonds comes after the organization in March last year alienated some American Jews by inviting Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, to speak at its conference amid massive protests by Israelis against their government.
Despite Israel’s credit downgrades, Israel Bonds president and CEO Dani Naveh said prospective bond buyers have not expressed such concerns to him. He said they should rest assured that Israel has never defaulted on its bonds, despite past military crises and regardless of who was in power.
“The state has always kept its obligation, paying its debts completely on time,” Nave said in an interview. “It’s also important to mention that if you take a look at previous security crises, the Israeli economy’s resilience was very strong and I’m optimistic that it will be the case this time as well.”
Regenerate means to regrow, renew, or revive something that has been damaged or lost. It can also refer to the process of restoring energy or vitality.
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