31st anniversary of AMIA bombing marked by ceremonies in Argentina, Israel and, for the first time, Congress

JTA – An official commemoration of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community centre bombing in Buenos Aires took place in the United States Congress this week for the first time, amid increased tensions with Iran, the country understood to have been behind the attack.

The 18 July 1994 car bomb attack killed 85 people, injured more than 300, and completely destroyed the AMIA building.

At an event on Tuesday, 15 July, organised by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Argentine Embassy in Washington, and AMIA, Reed Rubinstein, legal advisor to the United States Department of State, noted that Argentina’s judiciary ruled last year that the bombing had been executed by Hezbollah and ordered by Iran. He also noted that Argentina’s top court recently decided to pursue a trial in absentia for the perpetrators, a major step after decades of inaction.

“These are important steps toward justice for the victims and toward restoring accountability and deterrence,” Rubinstein said, noting that Jewish institutions remained targets for violence today.

The commemoration at the Rayburn House Office Building was one of multiple commemorations that took place around the globe this week, falling shortly after the US joined Israel in taking aim at Iran’s nuclear programme and in a climate changed by Israel’s punishing war against Hezbollah last year and Argentina’s recent political shift. It’s now led by Javier Milei, an avowed philosemite, who has made multiple trips to Israel and has directed his government to pursue accountability in the AMIA case.

Milei and several Cabinet ministers attended the commemorative ceremony in Buenos Aires held on Friday, 18 July, outside the rebuilt AMIA building. He didn’t speak, but told reporters, “We won´t stop until justice is done.”

There, AMIA’s new president, Osvaldo Armoza, warned that Iran is “more active than ever” in Latin America. “The AMIA attack cannot be understood as an isolated incident,” he said.

Armoza, an attorney who took office as AMIA president just one month ago, praised the current government for being “on the right side of history” following the 7 October terrorist attack in Israel. “The national government’s clear support for Israel in such a dramatic moment is worthy of recognition,” Armoza said, prompting one of the loudest rounds of applause on the cold morning.

No-one has been convicted of the bombing yet, though Argentina – and Israel – have long pointed the finger at Tehran, implicating several former Iranian officials, and Hezbollah, in the AMIA attack and also in the 17 March 1992 terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires.

Another ceremony was held in Israel, with Argentina’s ambassador to Israel, Rabbi Axel Wahnish, attending a ceremony at the Israeli Knesset on Monday.

Originally founded to assist European immigrants, AMIA today provides a wide range of social services, operates a Jewish cemetery, and hosts educational and cultural programmes.

It is one of the largest organisations serving Argentina’s Jewish population – numbering about 200 000 people – and also supports the broader community, including non-Jews.