SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) — The state of Illinois will buy an additional $10 million in Israel Bonds as a way to help the Jewish state in the wake of an “unprovoked, murderous attack by the Hamas terrorist organization.”
State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said he was “absolutely sickened by the ongoing atrocities” and decided to reach out to “our Israeli partners and asked what we can do to help.”
“This investment is a direct result of those conversations,” he said.
Frerichs’ office has invested in Israel Bonds since he became treasurer in 2015 as a way to diversify the state’s portfolio, achieve good returns from a safe investment, and to draw attention to a global partnership between the state’s economy and Israel.
The bonds have never defaulted in their more than 70 years as an investment. Frerichs has visited Israel to see firsthand the projects funded by Israel Bonds. Under Frerichs’ leadership, Illinois’ investment in the United States’ strategic partner has now exceeded $100 million, his office said.
Frerichs also has invested in Israel Bonds to affirm the special relationship between Illinois and the only democracy in the Middle East. “Now is the right time to reaffirm that relationship,” he said.
“Terrorism must be confronted in all of its evil ways,” he said. “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. It does not seek peaceful coexistence or democratic self-determination. Hamas seeks the annihilation of the State of Israel and the slaughter of Jewish civilians while using Palestinian civilians as human shields.”
The relationship between Illinois and Israel Bonds goes back to the beginning. Peoria resident Sam Rothberg was a founder of the Israel Bonds program. Worldwide sales of Israel Bonds have exceeded $49 billion since “Sam from Peoria” facilitated those first sales in 1951.
