Israel Shifts EU Approval of Diaspora Bonds From Ireland to Luxembourg Amid Dublin Opposition

Israel has moved approval of its diaspora bond prospectus from Ireland to Luxembourg, following mounting opposition in Dublin to the Irish central bank’s role in the program.

For the past three years, Ireland’s central bank had served as the EU authority reviewing Israel’s diaspora bond filings. But lawmakers and pro-Palestinian groups pressed for an end to the arrangement, citing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 63,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel’s diaspora bonds, marketed largely to Jewish communities abroad, are a small but symbolic tool to supplement its wider sovereign debt sales. Israel launched an expanded campaign in October 2023 to raise funds amid the war.

In August, an Irish parliamentary committee urged the government to push for EU rule changes that would allow national central banks to refuse such approvals. Protesters have also demonstrated outside the central bank in Dublin.

The Irish central bank has maintained it is legally obliged to grant approval if conditions are met. But in a letter published Monday, Governor Gabriel Makhlouf confirmed the process would shift to Luxembourg after Ireland’s mandate expired.

Israel’s finance ministry said the move was “natural,” noting the country already works with Luxembourg on its sovereign debt program, and stressed the switch would ensure “continuous access to investors worldwide.”