PROCUREMENT AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS RELATING TO ISRAEL AND ISRAELI CITIZENS
WHEREAS, in recent years, there have been calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel, which has strong economic and social ties with the City of New York; and
WHEREAS, the City of New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of the State of Israel, maintaining deep-seated ties to Israel rooted in decades of economic and social cooperation, and rejects calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel; and
WHEREAS, the City of New York registered over $32 billion in procurement contracts during the 2024 fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, section 1110 of the Charter, entitled “Trusteeship of public property,” provides that all officers and employees of the city are “trustees of the property, funds and effects of the city, so far as such property, funds and effects are or may be committed to their management or control” and are “subject to all the duties and responsibilities imposed by law on trustees”; and
WHEREAS, section 6-129.1 of the Administrative Code provides that it is “unlawful for an agency to deny a contract because of the actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of the owners of the bidder or proposer”; and
WHEREAS, the City of New York maintains five independent pension systems that support over 750,000 City employees, retirees, and beneficiaries, and invest almost $300 billion in securities in the global marketplace, including over $300 million invested in Israel bonds and other Israeli assets; and
WHEREAS, the Comptroller, through the Bureau of Asset Management, is the investment advisor to, and custodian of, the five System funds; and
WHEREAS, each pension system has a Board of Trustees (“Board”) responsible for its investment functions, and those Trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that all investment decisions are made in the best interests of the respective System; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the Comptroller and certain union leaders, the Mayor and/or members of the Administration, including the Police Commissioner, Fire Commissioner, Finance Commissioner, Chancellor and members of the Panel on Educational Policy hold ex-officio seats on one or more Boards; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 18, signed May 16, 2022, established the position of Chief Pension Administrator who is tasked with, among other duties, serving “as the central coordinator and advisor to the Administration’s Trustees who sit on the Boards of the Systems and the Plan, on all administrative and eligibility determinations before the Boards;” and
WHEREAS, this Administration recognizes the benefit of maintaining a strong relationship between the City of New York and the State of Israel;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Agency heads, agency chief contracting officers, and any other Mayoral appointees with discretion over contracting are directed to refrain from procurement practices that are inconsistent with their duties as trustees of the City’s property and are intended to carry out any policy that discriminates against the State of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin, or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel. Employees who fail to follow this directive may be subject to disciplinary action by their agency.
§ 2. The Chief Pension Administrator and those Trustees of the City pension systems who have been appointed by the Mayor are directed, in a manner and to the extent consistent with their fiduciary duties, to oppose divestment from bonds and other assets made for the purpose of discriminating against the State of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin, or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel.
§ 3. This Order shall take effect immediately.
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Eric Adams
Mayor