On Feb. 1, after seven months of public pressure from organizers and community members, Summit County, Ohio allowed a $1 million investment in Israel Bonds to mature without reinvesting.

Israel Bonds are unrestricted loans to the Israeli Treasury. These bonds provide direct economic support for Israel’s apartheid and military infrastructure by funding the military occupation and illegal settlement expansions, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] LeylaLove@hexbear.net 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is a dumb question, but can someone explain how the anti-boycott laws work?

[–] Drewfro66@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 week ago

There is a law in Ohio that states that the government cannot contract with a company that boycotts or divests from Israel.

The first thing that bears being said is that even this much is unconstitutional, and has never been tested in a court of law. It's just a scare tactic.

And, being a scare tactic, both lawmakers (usually but not always Republicans) and Zionist lobby groups will threaten any group engaging in BDS with a lawsuit, even when this (already unconstitutional) law does not apply. And just that threat is enough to cow most local politicians, because the time, effort, and expenses related to such a lawsuit are just "not worth it" in their eyes.

In Summit County, what our County Council has done is just not renew the Israeli bonds when they come up, but has so far refused to sign any sort of binding resolution to stop investments.

Summit County is obviously one very small part of Israel's funding apparatus, but you would be surprised how much money there is in local municipalities taking on Israeli government bonds. Sure, it's only a few million in Summit; but it's a few more million in Cuyahoga, there's the other, like, 100 counties in the state, there's the other 49 states, and most State governments (including the state of Ohio) hold Israeli debt at the State level as well. If the County that contains Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio is accounting for millions of dollars, imagine the rest of the iceberg sitting under the water?

How did this happen? Zionist lobby groups going around to any government body with a Treasury worth caring about and pestering them for it with the aid of local Zionists claiming to represent the "Jewish Community", and it's very easy to say yes when it's all happening behind closed doors, it's 2004, you're a 60-y/o white Democrat county councilman who has never heard the word "Palestine" before in their life and just wants to people-please and stop getting bothered.