People march during the “Israel Day on Fifth” parade, in New York City, US, May 31, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

New York City’s public pension funds would lose billions of dollars in growth if policymakers divested from Israel bonds to protest the Jewish state’s policies in the Middle East, according to a new report.

Authored by the JLens investment network, an affiliate of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the report found that applying divestment to the city’s pension funds would wipe $37.55 billion in future pension fund returns over the next decade. That profound loss would be felt by the city’s government employees — including police officers, firefighters, and teachers.

“While the debate around BDS often centers on moral and political arguments, this analysis highlights that there may also be material financial considerations,” the group said in the report, referring to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. “As the NYC Pension Funds’ board of trustees navigate increased political pressure, careful consideration of a range of potential economic outcomes — alongside legal, fiduciary, and policy factors — may be relevant to responsible long-term stewardship of plan assets.”

The report came out nearly two months after New York City’s top financial official, Comptroller Mark Levine, defended the city’s ongoing investment in Israel bonds. He argued that bonds issued by the Israeli government remained a safe, long-standing investment for city pension funds, insisting that financial decisions must be separated from political pressure.

“Israel bonds have never missed a payment in 70 years, ever, not once” he said, pointing to the bonds’ decades-long record of repayment and arguing his office’s responsibility was to maximize returns for retirees, not respond to shifting political campaigns.

In New York City, records show that Israel bonds, historically yielding approximately 5 percent annually, have outperformed many alternatives.

However, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist who has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career, has urged Levine to end city investments in Israel bonds.

Mamdani has long been an outspoken supporter of the BDS movement, which seeks to isolate Israel on the international stage as the first step toward its elimination. Leaders of the movement have repeatedly stated their goal is to destroy the world’s only Jewish state.

“While some in New York, including Mayor Mamdani, have publicly supported the BDS movement, an international campaign aimed at isolating and delegitimizing the world’s only Jewish state, this analysis highlights the potentially serious financial consequence of applying BDS-aligned divestment strategies to the city’s pension funds,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “This research shows that divestment strategies guided by the BDS campaign can be bad fiscal policy, and we believe that they risk contributing to an environment where Jewish New Yorkers are already targeted and marginalized.”

Beyond bonds, Israeli firms pour billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs into the local economy, and business experts have warned that a push for divestment could lead Israeli-associated and Jewish-owned companies to leave.

On his first day in office in January, Mamdani voided the city government’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, lifted the ban on contracts with companies boycotting Israel, and modified key provisions of an executive order directing law enforcement to monitor anti-Israel protests held near synagogues. In May, he became the first mayor ever to skip the annual Israel Day parade.

The ADL and JLens have previously warned about the financial cost of adopting the BDS movement. In September 2024, the group projected that the 100 largest university endowments would lose $33.21 billion over the next 10 years by divesting from Israel.

“The BDS movement has migrated from college campuses to city halls as universities have become less hospitable to anti-Israel activism. But the math doesn’t change with the venue,” JLens managing director Ari Hoffnung said on Wednesday. “This analysis shows that if our assumptions prove true, they could cost New York City pension funds more than $37 billion. Whether the target is a university endowment or a public pension fund, the financial consequences will be real — and they will fall on the people these institutions serve: from students and faculty to teachers, police officers, and firefighters.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.