AMIA president Amos Linetzky called on the government to solve the case of the bombing of the Jewish community center during the memorial event for the 30th anniversary of the attack. President Javier Milei was present, standing among the rest of the attendees, holding the picture of one of the 85 victims.

“We’ve been disappointed over and over again for the past 30 years,” said Linetzky, speaking on stage on Thursday morning. “We ask this new government for the AMIA case to be a state issue once and for all, to mend the mistakes that were made and promote investigations into the local connections and cover-ups so the attack can be cleared up at once and those responsible can be tried.”

He also thanked Milei’s government for recently declaring the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas a terrorist organization.

On July 18, 1994, at 9:53, a bomb destroyed the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, in English) building in the busy Buenos Aires neighborhood of Once. It killed 85 people and left 300 injured. The attack took place just two years after a similar attack on the Israeli Embassy. 

While the judiciary investigated allegations that Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah and the Iranian government were behind the attack, this has never been proven in court. The investigation has been marred by corruption and cover-ups, and the case has never been resolved.

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Every year since the attack, survivors and families of the 85 victims have gathered in front of the AMIA building on the anniversary of the attack and called for justice. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history.

Linetzky called for deputies and senators to adopt policies similar to other countries with anti-terrorist measures. These include creating teams of specialized judges, giving prosecutors special powers to investigate, collaborating with other countries’ intelligence agencies, and fighting cyberterrorism.

“Thirty years have passed with no-one answering for this attack,” Linetzky said. “Thirty years without lawmakers updating our legislation. How many more decades have to pass? Do your jobs.”

Last week, the government announced they will send a bill to Congress that aims to try serious crimes, like genocide, torture, and terrorism, even when the suspect is fugitive. If passed, it could help solve the AMIA bombing case, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said.

Interpol currently has active alerts to detain several Iranian citizens who were high-ranking officials when the attack happened. They are wanted by the Argentine judiciary, accused of organizing the attack, but they have never presented themselves in court and are considered fugitives.

Linetzky also referred to the death of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor on the case. Nisman was found dead in the bathroom of his apartment the day he was supposed to speak in Congress about an accusation he had made days earlier against former President Cristina Kirchner pertaining to the AMIA case. He alleged that Kirchner and late former Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman had covered for Iranian authorities who were being investigated on suspicions of masterminding the attack.

The judicial investigation into his death has switched back and forth between treating it as a murder and a suicide. It is currently classified as a murder, but the investigation does not state who the perpetrator was. Kirchner has always denied participating in a cover-up and is not under investigation.

Linetzky said that Nisman had been murdered and called for the circumstances of his death to be clarified.

The AMIA president asked for more international collaboration, especially from countries in Latin America. He called for them to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization and questioned Bolivia for signing an “obscure” security and defense cooperation deal with Iran, “not only mocking Argentines but also dishonoring the deaths of six Bolivians” who died in the AMIA attack.

The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel was a key point of Linetzky’s speech. He condemned it for having “the same Iranian funding and the same targets of death and destruction” as the AMIA attack.

“Speaking of July 18 and October 7 is the same thing. The common factor is Iran. The attacks we suffered in the 1990s were the sad prelude to similar attacks in other parts of the world over the next 30 years,” he said.

Last Sunday, the Tehran Times, a mouthpiece of the Iranian regime, accused Milei’s government of being under Israeli control and “endangering Argentina’s national interests” in an editorial about the AMIA case. The article states Iran will eventually make Argentina “regret their enmity with Iran,” which was taken as a threat by the Argentine government.

“Undoubtedly, Tehran will not forget the anti-Iranian policies of Buenos Aires. But Iran has shown that it does not easily play on the enemy’s chess board, but at the right time and right position, it will impose its own game on the enemy and make them regret their enmity with Iran,” the editorial said.

Chief of Staff Guillermo Francos responded on Thursday by saying that “the impunity with which they make such threats is striking.” However, he said he doesn’t care about the threats. “On this side, we are defending the freedom and human rights of Israelis,” he told Radio Mitre.

An emotional homage

At 9:53, a chilling alarm blared from the stage on Pasteur street, outside the AMIA building. Like every year, attendees took pictures of the 85 victims and held a minute’s silence in their memory. They also placed a candle and a rose for each of the victims, and read out their names to keep their memory alive.

“I once heard that every person has two deaths: the physical one, and the last time someone says their name,” Linetzky said. “Somehow, if we remember people, they can live forever. We couldn’t prevent [the victims’] deaths, but we need to take responsibility for preventing that second death.”

“In this moment, 30 years ago, our fathers and mothers were killed, and from that moment on we were left without being able to enjoy the life lessons they shared with us every day,” Jewish actress Stefanía Roitman, who was born on the day of the attack, said at the start of the event. “In this place, 30 years ago, our spouses and siblings were taken away from us, and from that moment on we have missed their company, and the talks we could have had.”

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