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Residents and activists press Cuyahoga County Council to divest $16M in Israel bonds
Summary
Dozens of residents and advocacy groups used the public-comment period to press Cuyahoga County Council to stop reinvesting roughly $16 million the speakers say is held in Israeli bonds; speakers cited humanitarian concerns, international bodies, and a March maturity date.
Dozens of residents and advocacy-group members filled the public-comment portion of the Cuyahoga County Council's Jan. 14 meeting to demand the county stop reinvesting funds in Israeli bonds, which speakers repeatedly described as contributing to "genocide" in Gaza.
Speakers including Sean Abbott Klefter and others told the council that the county holds roughly $16,000,000 in Israel bonds and urged officials to redirect that capital to local services. "That investment portfolio has all sorts of stuff in it... $16,000,000 worth of Israel bonds," Klefter said during the public-comment period. Several speakers urged the council not merely to issue statements but to act before the next bond maturity date in March.
Speakers framed the request in moral and practical terms. Jenna Muhiadine of American Muslims for Palestine told the council to "divest from genocide" and to "invest in our own struggling communities." Yousef Nasser, a Palestinian American and member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, cited statements and legal filings from international bodies (as he listed them) — including United Nations experts, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reports, South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, and International Criminal Court actions mentioned in the record — as evidence prompting urgency for divestment.
Other commenters linked the investment decision to local priorities. One attendee asked whether the county's Israel-bond holdings could instead help fund health and human services locally; another, Charles C. Drake, a long-time county resident who works as a rover for the Board of Elections, used his time to press for better pay and mileage reimbursement for temporary election workers.
Council president opened the meeting noting rules for public comment and warning against disruptive signs and heckling; the clerk later closed public comment and the council moved on to approve minutes and routine business. No vote, resolution or formal council action on divestment was recorded during the meeting; the matter remained in the public-comment record and was raised repeatedly as a near-term request because speakers identified a bond maturing March 1.
The public record at this meeting shows sustained community pressure focused on county investment policy. Council members did not take an immediate vote on divestment; the introductions of several resolutions and routine referrals followed the public comments.
The council is scheduled to consider numerous resolutions in committee in coming weeks; speakers urged council offices and staff to treat divestment as an urgent, actionable item before the March maturity.
