Will Israel Bonds Be America’s Next Target?  

The United States seems regularly now to be pursuing legally operating Israeli-related organizations to force them to register as possible foreign agents.

The most recent group to come under such pressure is AIPAC, the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is not currently required to register as a foreign agent.  Rather, it operates as an American-registered nonprofit funded by US citizens, which means it is legally exempt from 1938’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Nevertheless, American politics have changed dramatically since AIPAC’s 1954 founding by Isaiah L. Kenen, originally under the name American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. The organization formally adopted its current name in 1959.  AIPAC was initially established because Israel needed significant economic assistance to enable the country to absorb the huge influx of refugees who arrived soon after statehood was declared.

Truth be told, before AIPAC, Kenen headed the American Zionist Council, which was funded by foreign sources and, therefore, did register as a foreign agent as a result.  However, in an effort to stay within the legal requirements for lobbying groups not to have to register as foreign agents, AIPAC has always been funded by US supporters.

Sadly today, with the rise of “progressive” politics in the US, whether AIPAC should register as a foreign agent is now a subject of ongoing debate. Critics, even including some former AIPAC staff and a significant number of US lawmakers, argue that its extensive lobbying efforts principally advance the diplomatic objectives of a foreign state. Conversely, AIPAC and its supporters maintain that it represents the interests of Americans who support a strong US-Israel relationship, and therefore functions as a legitimate domestic advocacy group protected by the First Amendment.

The disagreement has prompted legislative efforts, such as the AIPAC Act, recently introduced in the US House of Representatives, which aims to update FARA to specifically address organizations whose primary lobbying activities advance the interests of foreign nations.

Of course, other legislators similar to the sponsor of this initiative, US Congressperson Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, who are also pushing for the passage of the AIPAC Act seem to look the other way when the money and influence is coming from Israel’s Gulf neighbors.

Gulf countries and their government entities funding US institutions are not required to register as foreign agents under FARA because FARA contains a specific exemption for bona fide academic, scholastic, or scientific pursuits.  However, while the foreign governments themselves do not register, the US institutions receiving the funds are legally required to disclose the financial transactions. Under Section 117 of the US Higher Education Act, any institution receiving federal financial assistance must publicly report foreign gifts, contracts, and ownership that exceed $250,000. This data is maintained by the US Department of Education.

The funding landscape is massive; for instance, entities from Qatar alone have provided billions in funding for US education, and Saudi Arabia has provided billions more.  Qatar, for example, has officially provided $6.6 billion in reported gifts and contracts to American institutions according to the US Department of Education.  Aggregate funding disclosures indicate that the true long-term total may exceed $62.4 billion when accounting for US university branch campus operations in Qatar’s Education City since 1981.   As a result, the influence of these countries on US policy is, prima facie, borderline equivalent to being a foreign agent.  Yet there is no pending legislation to regulate this as, once again, it would appear that Israel is being singled out.

Hopefully the AIPAC-related legislation will not pass, but it is a warning sign that there is an increasing level of scrutiny being implemented when it comes to organizations in the US that work in Israel’s interest.

It would not be surprising, therefore, if the next target of the anti-Israel forces would be the Development Corporation for Israel (DCI), also known as Israel Bonds.

Through meaningful investments, not donations, Israel Bonds has provided a direct and trusted way to support Israel’s growth while offering competitive financial returns. Since 1951, Israel Bonds has been a bridge between global investors and the Jewish homeland, fueling progress, safeguarding the future, and building Israel’s future. The group has raised over $57 billion for Israel since its inception.

Development Corporation for Israel (DCI), is a legally registered US broker dealer and member of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). In that capacity DCI is the exclusive underwriter of debt securities issued by the State of Israel in the United States and operates fully within the law.

Israel is, of course, not unique in this regard.  India, for example, has successfully raised billions by floating diaspora bonds such as the Resurgent India Bonds and India Millenium Deposits.  In Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt have all issued diaspora bonds to tap into the wealth of their friends and families abroad.  Pakistan, Greece and Ukraine have also attempted to do so with varying degrees of success.

Hopefully, should members of the progressive left decide to go after Israel on this score as well, knowledgeable people there will be able to call attention to similar activities of other countries which don’t seem to merit such scrutiny and which, in many cases, have significantly worse human rights records than does Israel, if that becomes the presumed motivating factor once again.

In this new era of less than guaranteed bi-partisan support of Israel in the US, we here will need to be ready to respond to every threat with facts and figures that lay waste to the spurious claims of those who seek to denigrate both our right to be here and the successes we have achieved.  We dare not let them succeed!!!