A day after New York City Comptroller Mark Levine sparked criticism by backing off a campaign promise to reinvest the city’s pension dollars in State of Israel bonds, mainstream Jewish groups rallied around the historically pro-Israel Democrat — though sources said they expect a change in his investment policy in the months ahead.

Levine, who ran on a vow to reverse his predecessor Brad Lander’s termination of the city’s half-century of investment in Israeli bonds, posted an extended statement to X on Thursday affirming his personal support for Israel and the city’s long-standing economic ties to the Jewish state. He noted that some $285 million in city pension funds, most of them outside of his direct management, remain invested in Israeli equities and firms.

“Anyone suggesting that this means I am giving up on Israel is trying to turn the ordinary rebalancing and management of a pension portfolio into a political issue. That is simply not the case,” he wrote. “Like many Jewish New Yorkers, my deep personal connection to Israel is a part of who I am. It will not change. As New York City comptroller, I also have a solemn duty to safeguard our city’s pension funds, and I will not shirk that responsibility. I will continue to honor both commitments with integrity.”

Levine’s initial comments, made on Wednesday to The New York Times, about his decision not to reinvest in Israeli government securities emphasized regional and political instability as the basis for his decision. By contrast, his social media post stressed another reason — during his tenure, Lander had instituted policies over the pot of funds the comptroller directly controls to bar their investment in multiyear bonds of the sort Israel makes available to New York City to buy.

Sources told Jewish Insider that this, not the allusions to domestic and geopolitical issues confronting Israel, was the explanation they had received for why the comptroller had not made good on his pledge to recommit city pensions to Israeli treasuries. 

Jewish community groups responded positively to the comptroller’s post, with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York praising his “thoughtful statement” and “his commitment to honoring his promises,” and UJA-Federation of New York thanking him for “this important clarifying statement and for the work you do on behalf of all New Yorkers.” 

The Anti-Defamation League celebrated that, contrary to anti-Zionist activist assertions, the comptroller was “not engaging in BDS,” referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. The American Jewish Committee, meanwhile, lauded Levine for acknowledging the “impressive returns” State of Israel bonds had yielded in the past.

“I’ve known Mark since his City Council days. He’s always been proudly Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel,” Yaacov Behrman, public relations liaison for Chabad headquarters in New York, wrote of the comptroller’s statement. “I spoke to him today, and he told me that hasn’t changed. I trust him.”

However, insiders told JI that beneath the public acclaim lay the expectation — gleaned from private meetings — that Levine would oversee the end of Lander’s ban on multiyear bond purchases in the near future, and eventually fulfill his promise to invest again in State of Israel bonds.

“He’s earned a few months,” a source said, though they stressed the issue would loom over Levine until he restored the investments.