NYC comptroller not reinvesting pension funds in Israel bonds in stunning campaign pledge reversal

City Comptroller Mark Levine said he’s decided not to reinvest the Big Apple’s pension funds in Israel bonds — a dramatic reversal from a pledge he made during his successful campaign last year.Levine told The New York Times he made the decision solely on financial grounds, but critics suspected he was caving to Israel-bashers in the Democratic party, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani.“I always said this would be based on financial considerations only, not politics — that’s still my position,” Levine, who is Jewish and a professed backer of Israel, told The Times Wednesday.“But as of now, we feel that because of some technical challenges, and because of financial considerations, that this is not an investment that we can make right now.”That’s not what Levine said during a June 2025 Democratic primary debate for comptroller — a role in charge of managing $325 billion in pensions for the city government workforce.“We have a globally diversified portfolio, and that should include investments in Israel and Israel bonds, which have paid solid dividends for 75 years,” Levine said during the debate against Justin Brannan, a former Brooklyn councilman.The blowback against Levine’s bait and switch was severe, including from former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who expressed concern it will fan the flames of antisemitism.“They were a very sound investment,” Stringer, who increased investments in Israeli bonds, told The Post Wednesday.“This inaction will further empower the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement around the country.That is my worry.  And it could continue to contribute to more antisemitism.”Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism and former Brooklyn Assemblyman, called Levine a “coward.”“A perfect example of a coward: a sellout and a fraud trying to appease the dangerous lunatics on the left driving NY and the country off a cliff.

Shame on you,” Hikind said in an X post.The previous comptrol...