Talking Points and Presentation Themes

AT THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE THAT CREATED ISRAEL BONDS (1950) Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion spoke to American philanthropists, Jewish Community lay leaders/executives and Israeli government officials gathered in Jerusalem. With every Israel bond investment we bring Israel closer to attaining Ben-Gurion’s goals.

GLOBALLY RENOWNED INVESTOR WARREN BUFFETT partnered with Israel Bonds for 3 events in 2017-18 – 2 in Omaha and 1 in New York. The Buffett events generated a combined total of $290 million in Israel bonds investments and intentions to invest. When asked why he remains committed to Israel and the Bonds institution, Buffett stated, “I have nothing but good feelings about what I am doing. The United States and Israel will always be linked. It is a good thing for Israel that there is an America, and it is a good thing for America that there is an Israel.”

INVESTING IN ISRAEL BONDS IS NOT AN INVESTMENT IN PARTIES OR POLITICS, in ruling coalition or opposition. Every dollar of every investment – no matter the sum – is a dollar invested in strengthening the achievement of the dreamers, founders and builders of Israel to create a state, a life and a future for the Jewish people.

UNLIKE THE FIRST ISRAEL BONDS OFFERED ALMOST 70 YEARS today’s Israel bonds are different – shorter maturities, different denominations, online or app investing and maturity checks are mailed automatically. Yet in some ways – some very important ways – the bonds have not changed containing the same values, passions and dreams as the first. When you gift an Israel bond for a simcha, or give an Israel bond instead of cash or check for dues, tributes or pledges, you declare your connection to our Jewish-Zionist values and commitment to strengthen and secure our people, our state and our future.

AN INVESTMENT IN ISRAEL BONDS IS AN ENDORSEMENT OF ISRAEL – a reborn Jewish nation that achieved independence against all odds and, over the course of 70+ years, has successfully overcome every agricultural, environmental, immigration, resource and security challenge. For 68 of Israel’s 71 years through 12 Prime Ministers, 20 Knessets and 34 governments, the proceeds from the sales of Israel bonds, now more than $43 billion dollars sold worldwide, have supported every aspect of Israel’s economy – not politics or parties or coalition power, but the land, the people, the dream and the future.

BDS ADVOCATES INFURIATED BY ISRAEL'S ECONOMIC SUCCESS PROMOTE boycotting Israeli products, companies and social institutions; also divesting from corporations anywhere in the world that do business with Israel. Every investment in Israel bonds is a…

• Rejection of BDS advocates claims, proposals and objectives.
• Declaration of support for Israel's path, purpose and accomplishments.

 

ISRAEL BONDS ARE CURRENTLY HELD BY CLOSE TO 270,000 PEOPLE. This wide dispersion of a portion of Israel’s sovereign debt is a positive factor that helps earn strong ratings for the State of Israel from credit analysts at the major credit agencies. Strong ratings make it possible for the Finance Ministry to acquire additional foreign capital at favorable rates to help Israel manage its economy. (Note: Israel bonds are not rated.)

WE CANNOT EXPECT OUR CHILDREN TO BE MOTIVATED TO SUPPORT ISRAEL by the same longing and desperation for a state that compelled our parents and grandparents to invest in Israel bonds. We can however inspire them with the many levels of mitzvah embedded in every Israel bond and energize them with the value and convenience of Israel bonds for gift-giving and/or savings.

• MITZVAH: Support and secure the State of Israel.
• ZIONISM: Share the dreams of the Founders and Builders who restored our Homeland
• INCOME: Israel bonds earn interest until maturity
• CONVENIENCE: Israel bonds are available for purchase online or via app 24/7
• TRADITION: Learn, embrace and transmit love/support of Israel from one generation to the next

 

EARLY ZIONISTS “DRAINED THE SWAMPS” AND CAUSED THE “DESERT TO BLOOM”; they grew tomatoes, cucumbers, and developed a new state. Modern Israelis are “piercing the mountains,” i.e. boring holes in the Judean Hills, to build a high-speed rail link from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. One of Israel’s largest infrastructure projects ever will bring enormous economic and environmental benefits to the region and the State.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM OVER 40 COUNTRIES ARRIVED IN ISRAEL EARLIER THIS YEAR for Agrisrael 4.0 showcasing Israel’s hi-tech agricultural innovations, including autonomous airborne robots for harvesting and drones using artificial intelligence vision algorithms, orchard mapping and data to identify the exact time for harvesting. Valve specific irrigation instructions based on satellite imagery, hyper local weather forecasts and self-developed crop models were also at the forefront of the conference.

THE COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE AMONG THE MOST UNSTABLE AND REPRESSIVE countries in the world. Yet Israel, an open, democratic, tolerant, freedom-granting and rights-guaranteeing society is the target of a constant rebuke and a global boycott, divestment and sanction campaign. Why boycott a nation that...

• Guarantees the rights, speech, and liberty of all its citizens and visitors
• Is the source of one out of every four of the medicines, treatments and technologies in use today
• Is a first responder to disaster and humanitarian crises anywhere

 

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS WITH THE STRICTEST FIDUCIARY REQUIREMENTS, including banks and insurance companies, invest in Israel bonds. In the United States, over 95 state and municipal public employee pension funds and treasury funds currently hold more than $3.5 billion in Israel bonds.

ISRAEL’S ECONOMIC RESILIENCE IS BUILT ON THREE PILLARS:

• Israel has been proactive in developing far-reaching policies enabling its economy to remain stable in the face of ongoing global challenge.
• Israel’s leading and innovative technology sector attracts billions of dollars in foreign investment, hosts development centers that create jobs, rents, tax revenues and generate global demand for Israeli products.
• The Israel Bonds organization has achieved $43 billion in worldwide sales since inception in 1951.

 

ISRAELI-ARAB PH.D. CANDIDATES AND ISRAEL-ARAB WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE ARE INCREASING IN LARGE NUMBERS. Ph.D. candidates rose from 335 in 2008 to 759 in 2018 and Bachelors' Degrees rose from 26,000 in 2010 to 47,000 in 2017. Arab citizens comprise 17% of university students in Israel with 70% being women. One decade ago, 22% of Israeli-Arab women worked outside the home; in 2019 the number is 40% (Jerusalem Post and Haaretz).

AN ISRAEL BONDS INVESTMENT DECLARES YOUR APPRECIATION for “brand Israel,” i.e., the ideals and values of the State of Israel – democracy, pluralism, tolerance, safety, and putting human creativity and ingenuity to work to make the world a cleaner, safer, healthier, and better place. Your investment declares you appreciate and identify with a nation that:

• Sends a field hospital to Nepal in response to an earthquake; erects another field hospital near the Syrian border to treat refugees
• Builds a complex of water desalination facilities to reduce the burden on natural fresh water systems and produce excess capacity to transfer to neighboring countries
• Constantly invents new life-saving, time-saving, food-producing products that make the world a cleaner, safer, healthier, and better place
• Does the right thing despite the protests of world opinion