The Congressional Latino-Jewish Caucus and Argentina Caucus teamed on a resolution on Tuesday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires.
“More than three decades after the tragic AMIA Jewish Center bombing, and there’s still no justice for the 85 victims, the hundreds of injured and countless people who were traumatized by this Iran-backed Hezbollah attack,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a statement.
“With antisemitism skyrocketing around the world, this gruesome attack on Argentina’s thriving Jewish community cannot go unanswered. I’m proud to honor the victims of this attack and keep up the vital pursuit of justice for their loved ones,” she stated.
The Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, or AMIA, was bombed on July 18, 1994. Terrorists rigged a van with explosives and drove it into the building, killing 85 people and hurting more than 300—the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history.
A series of suspected cover-ups preceded a 2006 decision by prosecutors to accuse Hezbollah of carrying out the attack at the direction of its benefactor, the Iranian government. An Argentine court ruled in 2024 that this was the case and characterized Iran as a terror state.
Two years before the AMIA bombing, the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed in an attack thought to be linked to Hezbollah and Iran. That blast killed 29 people and hurt 242.
Argentina has the sixth-largest Jewish population in the world.
Schultz (D-Fla.), along with Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), all co-chairs of the 25-member Latino-Jewish Caucus, were joined as resolution sponsors by Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, in addition to Argentina Caucus co-chairs Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Michael Rulli (R-Ohio).
“The AMIA attack is a painful reminder of the dangers of antisemitism,” said Soto. “Today and every day, we keep the memories of those we lost alive by continuing to reject the extremism that leads to these violent acts of terror.”
Recent Argentinian legislation provides for trials in absentia. To date, 10 people accused of planning the bombing have since been ordered to stand trial, even as they remain at large.
“I strongly support this resolution condemning the 1994 AMIA bombing and demanding full accountability from Iran and Hezbollah,” Rulli said. “After 32 years, the victims’ families deserve justice. The United States stands with Argentina and the Jewish community in their fight against terror and impunity.”
