Two times in three weeks protesters have interrupted meetings of the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners in Florida. Palm Beach County has invested more than $1 billion in Israeli Bonds, making the county the world’s largest municipal investor in these Israeli notes. Earlier this year the county bought $350 million of the bonds. Protesters were inside the meeting room and outside of the building, accusing Israel of being an “Apartheid state committing genocide” in Gaza and the West Bank, and accusing county officials as being complicit in the killings by buying these “War Bonds.”

On Oct. 6 there were protesters and counter-protesters, with sheriff deputies stationed inside and outside the building. The county commission meeting took a 30-minute “recess” as deputies removed six people who apparently had been given the microphone to speak but were not allowed to speak about “war bonds.” County Mayor Sara Baxter silenced these protesters saying that investment decisions were made by the county clerk and the county comptroller—not the Board of Commissioners, according to the Palm Beach Post.

On Sept. 16 a crowd of 100 protesters had attended the County Commission Budget Hearing, where citizens were offered the microphone to speak for one minute each, but only on the topic of issues facing the county budget. Several citizens were removed, including a retired man wearing his highly decorated Air Force uniform, who said that he opposed buying more Israeli bonds and said that it was an “unsound” investment. As this retired Air Force man was being removed, the crowd began to shout in his defense. Commissioner Maria Sachs said she had “never seen such a ruckus,” according to VIN News.