Bonds for Israel

[KT2000]

Just learned that Huckabee-Sanders loans Israel $55 million in Israeli bonds. Another $100 million is on tap from state retirement funds. Arkansas is one of the poorest states and Republican. Apparently they are OK with this.

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2025/07/11/arkansas-taxpayers-are-loaning-israel-millions-of-dollars-as-its-war-in-gaza-grinds-on

Many Arkansans may not know their state government is also sending money to Israel, albeit as loans rather than aid. As of July, Arkansas holds $55 million in Israeli bonds, including $20 million purchased since May 1. That means Arkansas taxpayers have effectively loaned Israel $55 million to use how it sees fit.

Two boards overseeing the pension funds of Arkansas state employees also recently voted to buy up to $100 million more in Israeli bonds within the next few years. As of June, the Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System (APERS) authorized investing between $25 million and $50 million in Israeli bonds, while the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) authorized investing up to $50 million, despite an objection by an ATRS board member. If the retirement systems act on those recommendations, Arkansas public entities could lend Israel up to $155 million that could be used to fund its ongoing wars.

Hawk: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kOYI5sYxAMM?feature=share

[cliffside]

1. A little more from the article ...

"...Since October 2023, Israel Bonds has raised over $5 billion in the United States, largely from local governments and public employee pension funds across the country. Along with Arkansas, investors include Texas, New York, California, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

The bonds purchased by Arkansas and other states are issued by the Development Corporation for Israel, an organization legally separate from but closely affiliated with Israel’s Ministry of Finance. It is often called “Israel Bonds” for short. The bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Israeli government and are not earmarked to specific expenditures, meaning the funds raised by their sales can be used at the discretion of the state.

Notably, the bonds sold by the Development Corporation for Israel are illiquid: They cannot be traded in secondary markets, and the original buyer must hold them until maturity. This is in contrast to many other commonly held fixed-income debt securities, like U.S. Treasury bonds, and for this reason, the bonds typically have higher interest rates than other, liquid bonds.

All three credit rating agencies have assessed Israeli bonds to have a “negative outlook,” reflecting a high likelihood of future downgrades. The lowest rating among the Big Three is from Moody’s, which in September 2024 downgraded Israeli bonds from “A2” to “Baa1” with a negative outlook. A debt instrument with a Moody’s Baa1 rating is still considered “investment grade,” rather than “speculative grade,” though it “may possess speculative characteristics.”