Residents and broker urge Cuyahoga County to weigh financial and policy factors on Israel bonds

Three members of the public addressed the Investment Advisory Committee about Cuyahoga County's holdings in Israel bonds and the county's newly adopted sustainability policy.

Mark Ashed acknowledged the county's cash-flow concerns and told counsel he appreciated the county's fiscal stewardship while urging ongoing monitoring of Israel bonds. "The Israeli bonds as it relates to its credit ratings have only been, affected in 1 of the 3 major credit rating services and still holds investment quality bonds across the board," Ashed said, adding that he hoped reinvestment would follow when financially prudent.

Tom Lachtion, introduced himself as executive director of Israel Bonds for Ohio and Kentucky and said Israel bonds provide stability, diversification and strong interest spreads. He urged the county to use the statutory 2% allocation cap and recommended reinvesting a recently matured $3,000,000. Lachtion cited large purchases by other government entities and said, "They've never missed a payment. They've, never Israel's never defaulted in 73 year history."

Marlene Weinstein, a Cuyahoga County resident, flagged a potential legal tension between the county's sustainability policy, which she said instructs consideration of human-rights factors, and a state statute she cited in the transcript as "Ohio revised code 9 7 6," which she said prohibits divestment motivated by participation in the BDS movement. She asked the committee to treat the topic neutrally and with fact-based scrutiny going forward and noted that the state holds what she said was $262,000,000 in Israel bonds.

The committee did not take action on these public comments during the meeting; staff and commissioners acknowledged the points and continued into the scheduled portfolio review.