A Day of Mournful Remembrance in Argentina

"The years go by, but nothing happens."

"On these anniversaries, the government has very important announcements that never serve any purpose."

Diana Malamud, 64, member, Active Memory

 

"It's unbelievable that thirty years have passed since that cold morning of 18 July 1994, 30 years without a single person answering for this attack."

"We are speaking about October 7 here because the origin is the same: Iran."

"Always Iran is supporting terrorism, the common factor between AMIA and October 7 is the hate, the hate against Jews and also the hypocritical reaction of the world."

Amos Linetsky, head, AMIA (Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association)

People hold photos of bombing victims as sirens blare during a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish center that killed 85 people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP/Natacha Pisarenko)

 Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the truck bombing of the largest Jewish community center in Argentina in 1994, that killed 85 people and wounded another 300. Since that time, there has been no one named as responsible for the bombing. Those who know, however, point to Iran and its proxy militia, Hezbollah. In those three decades, governments have come and gone, each one pledging attention to the event, so that justice would be done. Nothing has come of any of those promises.

Argentina's new President, Javier Milei, the 11th leader in the 30 years that have passed, has renewed that pledge. That efforts will be vigorously pursued to finally bring the perpetrators of the mass killing to justice. He also signed new legislation so that July 18 was declared a national day of mourning in Argentina. Despite his obvious good intentions and his professed admiration for Israel and interest in Judaism, many Argentine Jews remain unconvinced.

 

The aftermath of the bombing at the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 1994. (AFP)

 

 

At the community centre which the Spanish acronym AMIA identifies, at 9:53am precisely a memorial siren wailed as it does on every year's anniversary of the dreadful event, reflecting the precise time to the very minute that the attack occurred. That signal commenced a day of speeches and solemn vigils.

In the audience at the community centre to show his personal support, President Milei held a portrait of one of the 85 victims of the bombing. The day previously the World Jewish Congress had hosted a conference, where the president denounced Iran as "the dark hand" behind terrorist attacks, ranging from Argentina, to Israel. 

In the certain knowledge that Iran had dispatched Hezbollah to execute the attack under the Islamic Republic's direction, Interpol disseminated notices for the arrests of several Lebanese and Iranian citizens accused of having been involved in the attack -- among them, Iran's interior minister. All of those represented by the Interpol notices remain free and at large.

 

The names of bombing victims and the Spanish phrase “Memory and Justice” cover a wall where a ceremony was held to mark the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish center that killed 85 people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP/Natacha Pisarenko)