Palm Beach County’s Israeli bond holdings are largest among US municipalities
Noura Erakat, a Palestinian American human rights lawyer and Guardian contributor, was arrested at a Palm Beach County, Florida, budget hearing on Tuesday after she and other attendees attempted to speak against the county’s more than $1 billion in investments in Israeli bonds — the largest such investment by any municipal government in the United States. She was forcibly removed by law enforcement, charged with trespassing and later released on bail.
The arrest came as a coalition of advocacy groups has pressed local governments nationwide to divest from Israeli bonds and as Palm Beach County residents continue to challenge the investments in court. A group of residents sued the county last year alleging the investments violated local laws, including requirements that foreign investments meet certain ratings and prohibitions around political investing; that case was dismissed in August for lack of standing and is under appeal.
Erakat was one of several people forcibly removed by local law enforcement when the group attempted to speak against the bond holdings at the public commission hearing. In a video of her arrest posted by Al Jazeera, two law enforcement officers are seen taking her away as she speaks about wanting to exercise “basic free speech.”
Erakat said she was “rough handled” and held, tightly cuffed, in the back of a police car for two hours before being shackled and transferred to a local jail, where she was released on bail. She was charged with a trespass misdemeanor.
“It’s absolutely absurd that this is the reaction to a public hearing and that I would be charged for trespassing at a public hearing,” Erakat said.
According to Erakat, the county’s mayor, Sara Baxter, told those present they could speak for only one minute, down from the scheduled three. She said Baxter later stated that only residents would be allowed to speak and that people who applauded would be removed. Erakat also recalled that Baxter said speakers could not address the Israeli bonds issue because it was a policy matter and not a budget one.
Representatives for Palm Beach County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When attendees spoke about the bonds anyway, they were removed from the room. During a recess, Erakat said, police officers entered the room and “handpicked” people to remove.
“I insisted that I had a right to stay, they didn’t know what I was going to talk about, they were racially profiling me,” Erakat said.
Erakat said she remained in the room despite the warnings because she wanted to witness what she described as an example of the suppression of public debate. “They were about to shut down the whole process and make it impossible to deal with the Israel bonds issue as a public matter,” she said. “We talk about fascism but to see it play out so vividly was what compelled me to stay in the room honestly.”
Charles Blaha, a former State Department official and an adviser to the human rights group Dawn, was also ejected from the room. He said the county commission abruptly canceled the scheduled discussion about the bond investments.
“The County knows the very problematic nature of the investment and the depth of public opposition, and is unable to defend the investment publicly,” Blaha said. “Instead, the County suppressed legitimate free speech and public debate.”
Palm Beach County’s holdings have become a focal point in a broader national debate over public investments in Israeli bonds. A coalition of groups has launched a “Break the Bonds” campaign encouraging advocacy for divestment at the local level, as well as targeting state and union pension funds and university investments in Israel. Several candidates in recent primary races have pledged to end public investments in Israeli bonds.
“It’s becoming harder and harder to argue that these investments are being made purely for fiduciary or financially sound reasons,” said Michael Omer-Man, director of Israel-Palestine at Dawn. In a memo to elected officials earlier this year, Dawn argued that investment of public funds in Israeli bonds violates both international law and fiduciary duties and may expose officials and beneficiaries alike to “substantial legal, ethical and financial risks.”
In Florida, the Palm Beach County residents’ lawsuit alleged the investment was carried out in violation of local laws, including requirements that foreign investments meet certain ratings and prohibitions around investing for political reasons. Lydia Ghuman, executive director of the Internationalist Law Center, which is representing the plaintiffs, told the Guardian earlier this year that the bonds are not beating the rate of inflation.
“These millions of dollars should be going to local needs,” Ghuman said. “The fact that they are being invested in bonds that are not beating the rate of inflation and propping up the economy of a foreign government is a sign of the special interests gripping local politics.”
The lawsuit was dismissed in August for lack of standing, but the plaintiffs are appealing the decision.