Dear Treasurer Russ,
Congratulations on boldly investing $60 million of Oklahoma taxpayers’ money in Israeli bonds—finally, a courageous stand in favor of... well, apartheid, military occupation, and funding another country’s social services while your own constituents sleep under bridges.
It’s an audacious move, really. Here in Oklahoma, where people are rationing insulin, struggling to find mental health care, and watching our schools rot from the inside out, you’ve chosen to funnel tens of millions to a foreign government with universal healthcare, functional infrastructure, and an openly discriminatory legal system. Is the idea that if we just keep giving Israel enough money, we too might one day be granted basic human services—assuming we align with their theology?
Let me be crystal clear: I do not support apartheid in any form. The moral gymnastics it takes to paint Israel’s decades-long colonization and systemic violence as “defense” or “democracy under siege” are nothing short of Olympian. The U.S. already disgracefully bankrolls this injustice. But you—as an elected official in a state ravaged by poverty, addiction, and disrepair—have voluntarily chosen to invest our money in a nation actively engaged in ethnic cleansing. That’s not just immoral—it’s obscene.
And let’s not pretend this is about faith. No Christ-centered theology condones this. The idolatrous obsession with Israel by certain Christian nationalist circles isn’t doctrine—it’s a doomsday cosplay wrapped in a flag. If Jesus came back today, you’d probably have him audited for not supporting Israeli bonds.
I want my money back. And I want it invested here—in the people who are actually your responsibility. The families living in tents on North Virginia Avenue. The kids sitting in moldy classrooms. The elders choosing between groceries and medication. The mothers praying their kids survive another week in a system you’re too busy outsourcing to care about.
If your moral compass points to Tel Aviv while your constituents starve in OKC, maybe it’s time to step down and run for office in the country you’re so eager to serve. Because Oklahoma deserves better than a Treasurer whose portfolio reflects foreign allegiance more than public responsibility.
Disgusted,
The Zen Absurdist