Maryland Break the Bonds Campaign Claims Historic Victory as State Pension System Divests 85% of Israeli Bonds

Following months of organizing, Maryland’s pension fund cuts Israeli bond holdings by more than $62 million, the largest known state-level divestment from Israeli sovereign bonds to date

(ANNAPOLIS, MD — 5/26/2026) The Maryland Break the Bonds Campaign today announced a major victory in its statewide push to end the state’s public investment in Israeli sovereign bonds, after the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System divested approximately 85% of the Israeli bonds it held less than a year ago.

In July 2025, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System held $73.7 million in Israeli bonds. By the end of March 2026, after more than a year of community organizing, pension board advocacy, union outreach, public testimony, digital letters, postcards, rallies, and legislative action, that figure has dropped to approximately $11 million. This is the lowest level of Israeli bond investment by Maryland’s pension system in at least a decade. The bonds were sold far before maturity.

“This is a major victory for Marylanders who refused to stay silent while our public retirement funds were used to provide unrestricted loans to a government carrying out genocide, apartheid, and military occupation,” said Shelley Fudge, Jewish Voice for Peace DC Metro. ”It’s part of a wave of decisions by states across the US that are responding to grassroots campaigns like ours to divest from Israeli bonds. But this fight is not over. Maryland still holds millions in these risky investments, and our pension officials could repurchase more at any time. We will keep organizing until Maryland permanently ends these investments.”

“More than 420,000 public employees in Maryland like our union members must contribute wages from our paychecks to fund the state pension system,” said AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) Local 3399 President Brendan Smith, which represents city employees in Takoma Park. “We stand in solidarity with Palestinian trade unions and don’t want to be implicated in the genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing that’s being carried out against the Palestinian people.”

The Maryland Break the Bonds campaign has spent more than a year urging the state retirement and pension system and state lawmakers to adopt stronger ethical investment standards. Part of its goal is ending Maryland’s multi-million dollar investments in Israeli bonds held by the pension system.

Community leaders met extensively with pension system staff and board members and worked with lawmakers to introduce legislation supported by dozens of partner organizations. Organizers collected hundreds of signed postcards, met with union leaders, sent thousands of letters urging divestment, and rallied in Annapolis with state employees, retirees, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and concerned Maryland residents.

On March 19, a broad coalition of more than thirty interfaith, civil rights, labor, and community organizations gathered at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis for a “Break the Bonds” rally, followed by a General Assembly House bill hearing on HB 1455, sponsored by Delegate Caylin Young, that sought to require the pension system to review and divest from certain Israeli-linked investments and prohibit future investments under specified conditions.

At the hearing, over one hundred witnesses submitted oral and written testimony in support of divesting Maryland pension funds from Israeli bonds, including public sector workers, retirees, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and Maryland residents concerned about the financial and moral risks of these investments.

“The sale of more than $62 million in Israeli bonds makes it clear that our voices were heard,” said Lauren Leffer, Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore. “Marylanders should never be forced to wonder whether their wages and retirement funds are helping finance war crimes, apartheid, or mass human rights violations. Maryland must now finish the job and guarantee that these bonds are never repurchased.”

“Genocide and apartheid are a bad investment,” said Zainab Chaudry, CAIR Maryland. “Our coalition has made it abundantly clear that Maryland should prioritize retirees, not loan public money to a foreign government engaged in catastrophic human rights abuses. This divestment is a powerful reminder that sustained grassroots advocacy can move public institutions. Maryland must make sure that our state’s retirement and pension funds are never used to underwrite apartheid, genocide, or military occupation.”

The campaign noted that while the divestment marks a historic shift, Maryland’s pension system reportedly made a small recent purchase of Israeli bonds in March, underscoring the need for permanent policy change, transparency, and accountability.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s credit rating has faced major downgrades from leading rating agencies including Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P as genocide costs, geopolitical instability, and economic uncertainty have intensified.

Internationally, pension funds and institutions in multiple countries have taken steps to divest from Israeli-linked holdings amid concerns over human rights violations, legal exposure, and financial risk. In the United States, Maryland now joins a growing wave of state and local divestment victories involving Israeli bonds and companies tied to Israeli government abuses, including campaigns in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington state.

The $62.59 million divested from Israeli sovereign bonds in Maryland represents the largest known state-level divestment from Israeli bonds so far.

The campaign also pointed to shifting public opinion. Gallup reported in July 2025 that only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Israel’s military action in Gaza, while 60% disapproved. Pew Research Center reported in April 2026 that negative views of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have continued to rise among Americans. A Washington Post poll of American Jews found that 61% said Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

“Divestment is not symbolic,” said Miriam Ruttenberg, member of Montgomery County Jewish Collective (MCJC). “Israeli bonds are direct loans to the Israeli government, which is using this unrestricted financing to destroy Palestinian families. Jewish values dictate that Maryland should instead be investing in schools, housing, health care, infrastructure, and the dignity of our communities.”

The coalition pledged to continue organizing until Maryland fully divests from Israeli bonds, prohibits future purchases, and adopts stronger ethical investment policies rooted in fiduciary responsibility, transparency, human rights, and public accountability.