BOCA RATON

Palm Beach County is the world's largest investor in Israel Bonds - is it worth the stake?

Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo increased the county’s cap on Israel Bonds from 10% to 15% of its $4.67 billion investment portfolio.

Larry Keller

Special to The Post

Palm Beach County has become the world’s largest investor in Israel Bonds, with its latest outlay bringing its total to $700 million, according to Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo.

With the recent approval of the County Commission, Abruzzo increased the county’s cap on Israel Bonds from 10% to 15% of its $4.67 billion investment portfolio.

The bonds are for two and three years and will bring a cumulative yield of 5.08% — higher than U.S. Treasury bonds, said Abruzzo who is responsible for management of the county’s investments. The return on investment of $84 million “is going to outperform our entire portfolio when I came into office” in 2021, he added.

Palm Beach County has become the world’s largest investor in Israel Bonds with its latest outlay bringing its total to $700 million, according to Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo.

Israel Bonds aren’t new. They were proposed by the nation’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and were first sold in 1951 as a way to support the young nation’s economy. Palm Beach County first bought Israel Bonds in 2008.

“Because they are so highly sought after by other government agencies and private individuals, there was hardly anything available on the market,” Abruzzo said.

That changed Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants swept into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 250 others hostage. That was quickly followed by Israel’s subsequent ongoing war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

“When Oct. 7 happened, obviously Israel needed to raise money and they did a whole new issuance of Israel bonds, which allowed us to go in and make that sound, safe investment and get an incredible return,” Abruzzo said.

How big is Palm Beach County's Jewish population?

A demographic study by Brandeis University released in 2019 by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County found a 21% increase in the Jewish population from Boynton Beach to Martin County over the previous 13 years. A separate study released in November 2018 by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County showed similar trends in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach.

Abruzzo made an initial Israel Bonds purchase of $25 million within days of the Oct. 7 attack. At that time he said there “could be no greater advocacy that we could do in our office right now” than to support Israel.

A number of states also bought Israel Bonds shortly after Oct. 7. Florida’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, said he would invest $25 million in the bonds, for a total of $80 million. The Florida Legislature authorized the purchase of Israel Bonds by city and county governments in 2007.

Abruzzo concedes some people may object to his Israel Bonds investments in light of widespread condemnation of the war being responsible for the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians, with thousands more experiencing dire hunger.

“Do I hear, especially from the far left wing of my Democratic party, concerns about investing in Israel? Yes. Are the public leaders in D.C. of the Democratic Party condemning support for Israel? Yes," he said. "But I would say to them, we’re not going to be deterred. They need to back off and we need to stand united with our greatest ally, Israel.”

Still, he insists that his substantial investment in Israel Bonds isn’t politically motivated. Two-thirds of the transactions were before the war in Gaza, he said.

“First and foremost, everything I do financially is, down to the penny, putting personal feelings aside,” Abruzzo said. “None of my purchases was done for a political purpose whatsoever. It’s the dollars and cents and getting the most we can for taxpayers. It’s all economic driven.”