The South Florida chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace gathered Thursday to urge Miami-Dade County to divest $151 million in Israeli bonds ahead of a commission meeting on a proposed $12.9 billion budget.
Activists called for commissioners to reinvest the funds in local priorities such as affordable housing, infrastructure, parks and public transit.
“Today is really an important reminder that these are not issues that are so far removed from us,” said Armen Henderson, the executive director of Dade County Street Response. “Our tax dollars should be spent on things that are needed in the community [but they] are being sent to support an unjust war.”
Roughly $25 million of the county’s bonds are set to mature on Nov. 1, 2025.
A recent poll commissioned by the Voice for Peace chapter found that about 63% of Miami-Dade residents are unaware the county invests in Israeli bonds. And an overwhelming 95% say those investments are not a responsible use of taxpayer money.
Following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava championed the country’s $25 million Israeli investments. That total has increased to $76 million.
“I am proud to make this additional investment in Israel bonds,” she said in a statement at the time. “As we send a clear message that Miami-Dade stands together with Israel and all nations that champion democracy.”
She later released a statement on X on July 25, 2025, saying, “The world united after Oct. 7 to denounce evil and the pain Israelis endured. Now, we must speak out against the horror of starvation in Gaza.”
But now, the mayor has dismissed criticism of the bonds as something outside her control, noting that the Miami-Dade elected clerk is responsible for managing the country’s investment portfolio.
Ahead of the county commission meeting to consider her $12.9 billion budget for 2026, she told the Miami Herald that she would not make a statement on the bonds. “I’m not weighing in,” she said.
The war in Gaza erupted in Oct. 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched an attack in southern Israel killing about 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and taking 251 hostages. Of those, 48 remain in Gaza, with Israel estimating that roughly 20 are still alive after the rest were freed through cease-fires and other agreements.
On Tuesday, an independent team of experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Their report called on the international community to end the genocide and hold those responsible accountable.
But on Thursday, the U.S. once again vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 65,000 according to the territory’s health ministry. More than 90% of homes are estimated to be destroyed or damaged, and U.N. food security experts have declared a famine in Gaza City.
Those realities, Jewish Voices for Peace South Florida members say, make them deeply disturbed not only by Israel’s actions in Gaza but also Miami-Dade County’s continued financial ties through its bond holdings.
Marty Rajandram, 69, first joined the South Florida chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace after moving to Miami from New York. She says the group looked very different five years ago.
“When I first started, I would say the majority of us were over 65,” said Rajandram. “There were 10 at the first meeting, and over half were over 65. You can see the crowd here today. I think I’m the only one.”
Since then, the South Florida JVP chapter has expanded— a shift Rajandram attributes to the recent genocide in Isreal.
“All these young people have come out, because what’s happening in Israel right now is a genocide, and they are speaking truth.” said Rajandram. “It’s appalling, it’s heartbreaking. It shouldn’t be happening, and it’s happening every single day.”
