In a letter to state and local officials, the human rights organization DAWN warned on Friday that any investment in Israeli sovereign debt by New York City would violate local and international law.

The 26-page letter — directed to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the state and city comptrollers — took aim at Israeli bonds, a financial instrument that invests in the Israeli government for a set period and then is paid back with interest.

“New York is using taxpayer money to finance a military the entire world has watched commit war crimes.”

Israeli bonds have emerged as a crucial source of funding for the Israeli government, with money from bond sales flowing into the country’s coffers and allowing it to continue its genocidal campaign in Gaza and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank.

“There’s no complicated analysis needed here: New York is using taxpayer money to finance a military the entire world has watched commit war crimes and crimes against humanity for years,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director. (Mamdani, City Comptroller Mark Levine, and the other elected officials named in the letter did not........

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