December 12, 2025 — To the Editor:
I’d like to take this opportunity to respond to the recently published Communicator article on Comptroller DiNapoli’s panel discussion at our 2025 Convention where members were not invited to participate. Specifically, this is in response to the brief section titled, “Israeli bonds tied to pensions.”
In the discussion, the moderator mentioned, “questions from Convention delegates regarding how their pensions invest in Israeli bonds,” however, it’s unclear what these questions were since none were articulated or cited by the moderator or panelists. Instead, there was the imminent possibility that our Resolution #10 – well researched, heavily annotated, and reported out of Committee with no substantive changes the day before – might actually be discussed and debated on the Convention floor.
If adopted by the delegates, it would have required the panel moderator, President Wayne Spence, on behalf of PEF, to endorse the statewide Break the Bonds Campaign by writing a letter to demand the Comptroller divest our pension fund of Israeli bonds and publishing it in this periodical.
The new and renewing purchase of these bonds by the Comptroller helps give Israel unrestricted access to over $367 million to purchase weapons to continue the ongoing genocidal slaughter of over 65,000 Palestinians begun over two years ago. Co-sponsored by 22 other PEF members and delegates and submitted months before the Convention, the resolution – like the nationwide polls indicating increasing numbers of Americans opposing the use of U.S. funds to finance Israel’s genocide – and the spirit of it, is continuing to build momentum.
The article also discusses DiNapoli’s rationale for ignoring how the funds are used and instead focusing solely on the rate of return: “I try to explain to people that we’re invested in the bonds. We’re not supporting a particular government in Israel,” said DiNapoli. “I have my own opinions as well, but I can’t let my opinions, or other people’s personal opinions or political agendas, drive the pension. It is not fair to all of you.”
The argument is deeply misleading of course, especially when you consider DiNapoli’s actual track record regarding his efforts to fulfill fiduciary obligations and in terms of not “let[ing] my opinions … or political agendas, drive the pension.” The facts speak differently. In fact, three separate Ethics violations have been filed recently with the State Ethics Commission against the Comptroller.
One complaint deals with him purchasing additional Israeli bonds in the immediate aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and voicing support for Israel as one of America’s strongest allies in the Middle East (this was reported in his own press release). In a second complaint, it’s alleged that he has been charged with disclosing confidential information, in secret, with a private corporation that brokers the Israel bond sales. Additionally, he’s accused of refusing to comply with subsequent FOIL requests for the information even though the New York State Committee on Open Government clearly affirms that the Office of the State Comptroller and the State Comptroller himself are required to do so by law.
Regarding DiNapoli’s statement that he invests in the bonds and not the state issuing them: You don’t have to have an MBA in finance to understand that, as a matter of course, if you invest in these types of sovereign bonds, which are backed by the Government of Israel, you’re investing in Israel. Who does he think uses the pension monies accrued from the purchase of them? If he wants to argue that investments in these bonds undertaken during his tenure as Comptroller are simply an extension of an historical investment trend, that’s one thing. It’s another to pretend that the Government of Israel doesn’t use the funds for its own purposes which, at this moment, includes paying for the cost of committing genocide upon the Palestinian people.
If the accumulated evidence isn’t enough for PEF members to question the veracity of the Comptroller’s statement that he is politically neutral when it comes to pension investments, then at least it should have led to further discussion, debate, and investigation into what our pension fund investments are supporting. Choosing ethical investments could generate a reasonable rate of return so that PEF pensioners don’t have to worry about the financial viability of the fund and ensure that their monthly pension checks aren’t tainted with the blood of innocent Palestinians.
The comptroller is an independent, statewide elected public official beholden to the public and pensioners to fulfill their public duties. Candidates for this statewide office could and should be expected to articulate their commitment to fulfilling the duties of the office and explain how they will do this including whether they intend to include ethics and social responsibility factors in their pension fund investment decisions. Why? Because to invest in anything that fosters death and destruction undermines our very mission as civil servants, which is: to provide high quality, critical public services to enhance the quality of life of all New Yorkers. For me and a growing number of PEF members, that’s something worth investing in.
Michael Tracy-Ireland, Steward, Division 357
Co-signers: Naomi Gewirtzman, PEF member, Division 168; Nazia Rahman, Secretary, Division 196; Scarlett Ahmed, Executive Board Seat 250, Division 245; Erik Ruiz, Council Leader, Division 245; Joshua Heuvel-Horwitz, Treasurer, Division 385; Joseph Sobel, PEF member, Division 281; Tor Loney, Steward, Division 194; Irshad Sumar, Steward, Division 252; Matthew Brockbank, Steward, Division 357; and Chris Rampe, Steward and Secretary, Division 168
Editor’s Note: Regarding Convention Resolution 10, a motion was made during plenary session for delegates to consider Resolution 10. The delegates voted and the motion failed.