Forget Israel Bonds for a minute. Just think of any government bonds. What comes to mind?
I think of Soviet Bonds my grandfather used to buy. That feels like an ancient history, but apparently bonds are much older than that, first ones being issued in Amsterdam (future Netherlands) in 16th century, then in England in 17th century and so forth. Bonds have served for centuries now as financial instruments that put big money into a country’s pocket while guaranteeing their owner’s some fixed income at the time of maturity. Governments used to issue perpetual bonds to fund wars and other spending, but in 20th century that practice ceased to exist, and currently governments issue bonds of limited term to maturity.
Israel Bonds may be thought of as just another country’s bonds, but in my mind they became more than financial instrument. They became a symbol of Jewish unity, of a bond between Jews of Israel and Jews of Diaspora, the channel that allowed American Jews to express their support for Israel in the critical time for the country (as if any time in Israel’s lifetime is not critical). I love the fact that the beauty of English language shines in this case and the word “bond” with its multiple meanings encompasses several of them simultaneously in the case of Israel Bonds.
Rabbi Herbert Friedman in the autobiographical “Roots of the Future “ gives an interesting account of the Israel Bonds’ birth story. Imagine 1950. Israel is dealing with accepting massive numbers of refugees still streaming from the displaced persons camps in Europe (Jews who survived concentration camps were put into displaced persons camps for years before being allowed to leave for Palestine/Israel or other countries away from the continent where they were almost killed). At the same time, Arab nations started expelling Jews out of Yemen, Iraq, Iran in hundreds of thousands. And all these poor people were arriving into a country that just recently fought the war started by 5 Arab countries, lost 6,000 dead in a process and had been suffering from shortage of food after dramatically doubling the pre-war population to 1.2 million.
It’s worth mentioning that American Jewry have been already fundraising millions for Israel in the form of donations. But much more resources were needed and creating a new form of a loan gave a tremendous boost to the country, ultimately allowing it to develop national water-carrier system, oil pipelines, highways, railroads, harbors, ports, airfields, telephone networks, electric power plants, computer research and development facilities and other major and vital projects.
Just think about it: the first year the Bonds program started — 1951 — brought in $52 million. When David Ben-Gurion came to US to kick-off the Israel Bond Campaign in Chicago, rally of 100,000 people gathered at Soldier’s Field. Similar response was observed in other cities as well. Those were the days…
That’s all history, you may say, and you’ll be wrong. Israel Bonds are alive and well. In fact, these days the annual sales average over $1 billion. Why? Because Israel still needs us. Because we need Israel. Because Israel is a strong nation that will work hard to return you your earnings, while multiplying the wealth for the whole country, and ultimately spreading it to the world if you take into account how prolific Israel is in generating technological, medical, environmental and other advances that improve the lives well beyond her borders.
Don’t let this post pass by as a curious dive into history. Become part of that legacy. Explore whether Israel Bonds should become one of your methods of investing in Israel, whether you buy them for yourself or as a gift for someone, for B’nai’ Mitzvah, for example. The required investments start only at $36 but can go up to $25,000. You can go to their website, you can join their Facebook page or you can find a local sales office if you prefer a personal touch.
Don’t feel like travelling to those sites yet? Here are the basics.
Jubilee Issue Bonds (2, 3, 5 and 10-year): fixed rate, $25,000 minimum investment and $5,000 increments; semi-annual interest paid May 1 and November 1.
Maccabee Issue Bonds (2, 3, 5 and 10-year): fixed rate, $5,000 minimum investment and $500 increments; semi-annual interest paid May 1 and November 1.
Sabra Savings Bonds (3-year): fixed rate, $1,000 minimum investment and $100 increments; interest paid upon maturity.
Floating Rate LIBOR Bonds (2, 3, and 5-year): variable rate, $5,000 minimum investment and $500 increments; semi-annual interest paid June 1 and December 1.
Mazel Tov Bonds (5-year): fixed rate, $100 minimum investment and $10 increments; interest paid upon maturity.
eMitzvah Bonds (5-year): fixed rate, $36 minimum investment and $18 increments; interest paid upon maturity. May only be purchased online.
“Do something!” as the old poster shouts. “Buy Israel Bonds.”
