Cleveland solidarity movement wins county divestment from Israel Bonds

Cleveland

For almost a year the Cleveland Palestine Action Community, local chapters of the Palestinian Youth Movement and Students for Justice in Palestine and other solidarity activists have waged a concerted battle to pressure Cuyahoga County officials to divest county funds from Israel Bonds. The county’s investment stood at $16 million when the struggle began in April 2024, following a hard-fought win with the Cleveland City Council passing a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Cleveland, Nov. 24, 2024. WW Photo: Martha Grevatt

Solidarity organizations employed a range of tactics, including packing County Council meetings and calling for divestment during “public comment,” mass phone calling and emailing Council members, protesting outside County Executive Chris Ronayne’s residence in Cleveland and a sit-in outside his office on Feb. 11. The movement felt a sense of urgency in February, because $3 million of the bond investment was maturing and up for renewal on March 1.

On Feb. 21, County Treasurer Brad Cromes announced that the $3 million would not be reinvested in Israel Bonds. In addition, the county was freezing all investments until Sept. 1, including those that support the Zionist state. The next batch of Israel Bonds reach maturation on Dec. 1, so there’s no guarantee that the County Council will refuse to renew that investment.

Rather than admit to acting under pressure from the Palestine solidarity movement, Ronayne’s chief spokesperson Kelly Woodard stated, “Additional large upcoming expenditures and uncertainty surrounding federal funding have made increasing this cash reserve even more critical, so the county can continue to meet obligations to our residents and protect taxpayer dollars.”

But right now the latest divestment from genocide of county funds is a real shot in the arm to the Palestine solidarity movement in Cleveland. As CPAC stated on its Instagram page: “This is a victory for our Cuyahoga County community and demonstrates our collective power. Cleveland and Cuyahoga County residents have made it clear that there is no support for genocide in our community.”