AKRON, Ohio — The Summit County Council is considering whether to recommend the county stop investing in Israel bonds.

What You Need To Know

  • Residents across the state have shown up to council meetings urging officials to divest from Israel bonds

  • Summit County met with a representative from the Palestinian community to discuss Israel bond investments

  • The fiscal office, not county council, makes the final decision on what bonds to invest in

Members of county council met with a representative from the Palestinian community to discuss their options.

A similar plan didn't make it off the ground in Cuyahoga County.

People who oppose the war in Gaza have been showing up at city and county council meetings across the state urging officials to divest from Israel bonds as a way of putting pressure on the Israeli government. 

Summit County Council doesn't decide on county investments, but they can pass a resolution recommending the county not to make any future investments in Israel bonds.

Cuyahoga County Council was considering a similar resolution, and that was enough to trigger a warning from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, urging the county not to change its stance on investing in Israel bonds. He warned they could violate an Ohio law that makes it illegal for businesses to receive state funding to boycott, divest from or sanction Israel.

Some legal experts dispute Yost's stance on whether or not investing in Israel bonds in the future actually violates that law. 

Yost hasn't offered Summit County Council a similar warning at this point.

The president of Summit County Council said no final decisions on whether to urge the county to stop investing in Israel bonds would be made Tuesday. However, they met to talk with a representative from the Palestinian community about the issue.

Summit County currently holds three Israel bonds, which total $4.5 million dollars. These bonds make up 1.3% of the county's total portfolio.