The human rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Israel Bonds for being an unregistered foreign agent.
Israel Bonds is the commonly-used name for the Development Corporation for Israel (DCI), a New York-based underwriter of debt securities issued by the country. The group exclusively sells bonds issued by the Israeli government to individuals, investment funds, local state governments, and other groups. According to the group’s website it has sold more than $48 billion worth of bonds since it was founded in 1951. Israel Bonds’s CEO is Dani Naveh, a former Likud Party minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first cabinet secretary. The money raised from the bonds go into the general budget of the state of Israel.
The referral notes that Israel Bonds violate the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) because it promotes the political interests of a foreign country and raises money for its government. Israel’s operating budget is obviously used for political purposes, including illegal settlement activity, military occupation, and the implementation of Israel’s apartheid policies.
“By advertising, promoting, and selling Israel-issued bonds, Israel Bonds works to influence the public in the United States, in order to advance the public interest of Israel,” the referral states.
The government uses FARA as a tool to identify foreign influence and assess national security threats. The Justice Department is required to make that information publicly available. The DAWN referral asks that if the Justice Department finds Israel Bonds in violation of the FARA statute that it impose criminal penalties on the organization and Naveh in line with the U.S. code, which could include a fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to five years, or removal from the United States for foreign nationals.
DAWN’s press release notes the political nature of the organization and its connection to multiple U.S. states. In May 2022 Ohio purchased $22.5 million worth of Israel bonds. “This is a vote of confidence in Israel’s dynamic economy and an expression of advocacy for the State of Israel,” said Israel Bonds Cleveland Advisory Council General Chairman Steven Greenberg at the time. In 2004, in response to lobbying pressure from the organization, four states began allowing the purchase of bonds issued by foreign governments.
“Israel Bonds is a sophisticated operation to enlist American public support for Israel’s political projects while dodging the minimal transparency and scrutiny our laws require,” DAWN’s Director of Advocacy for Israel/Palestine Adam Shapiro said in a statement. “Americans need to know that foreign government agents are lobbying to change U.S. laws and to solicit their political and financial support for Israel’s occupation, apartheid policies and human rights abuses.”
This year, Israel Bonds welcomed Israel’s ultranationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to address attendees at its annual conference in Washington, DC. Just days before his speech at the event, Smotrich made headlines for calling for a Palestinian village to be destroyed. Netanyahu recently ratified a legislative move that allows Smotrich to take control of a program expanding illegal West Bank settlements.
In 2022 DAWN called on the U.S. State Department to implement the Leahy Law and cut off funding to the IDF’s infamous Netzah Yehuda Battalion, which has carried out human rights violations and war crimes.
