Eleven years ago, the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was struck by a terrorist bomb, killing twenty-nine people and wounding dozens of Israelis and Argentineans, including Israeli diplomats and staff, pupils in a nearby school, and passersby. Ten years ago, the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Aid Association (AMIA), the Jewish community headquarters building in Buenos Aires, was bombed and 85 Argentines were murdered. Though all these years have passed, only slow progress has been made in achieving justice for the victims while the terrorists who committed these heinous crimes have not yet been brought to justice. We sadly again honor the memory of the victims and share the pain of their families and are outraged that terrorism continues to claim so many innocent victims all over the world.

“The Orthodox Union strongly supports Congressional letters commending Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner for his decision to open the classified report by Argentina’s Secretary of State Intelligence on this attack and to allow these officials to testify at the trial of 20 alleged accomplices to this crime,” said Betty Ehrenberg, Director of International and Communal Affairs of the OU’s Institute for Public Affairs. “We believe that these files will show that the bombing of the AMIA building as well as the Israeli Embassy in 1992 could not have happened without the support of senior Iranian government officials and Hezbollah. These Congressional letters will strengthen the U.S.-led war on global terrorism and the efforts of the United States Congress to monitor the trial and hold those who carry out acts of terrorism accountable for their actions.

“The Orthodox Union applauds Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Senators Norman Coleman (R-MN) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) who are asking their colleagues to join them in signing these letters to President Nestor Kirchner. These letters underscore the strong stance that the United States Congress has taken against anti-Semitism around the world as expressed in other recent Congressional resolutions. They are important contributions in the efforts to bring to justice those who are responsible for acts of terrorism and to prevent the recurrence of such heinous crimes.

“In addition, the Orthodox Union commends Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida who is introducing a very strong resolution on this issue today in the House (see below).

“The Orthodox Union calls upon the international community to follow the lead of the United States Congress and to intensify the struggle against terrorism and those states and organizations which support terrorism as a means to achieve their political goals. It is crucial that the countries of the world and all international organizations truly cooperate on all levels in order to help fight this scourge that is threatening so many parts of the world.”