Two US senators presented a resolution agreed between the Democratic and Republican parties before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to investigate and seek justice for the victims of the terrorist attacks on the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA, which occurred in 1992 and 1994, respectively. They also called on the Argentine government to resolve the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.
They are legislators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio, who pointed out that for 25 years the investigation into the attack on the Israeli mutual has been "obstructed by international inaction, political interference, investigative misconduct and cover-ups", among which they named the dismissal of a federal judge in charge of the case for serious irregularities.
Menéndez, a Democratic senator and chairman of the Committee, recalled his visit to Argentina last October, during which he met with leaders of the Jewish community in our country . "As I told them, we will never forget the 1994 attack, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack outside of Israel since the Holocaust, nor will we remain silent in the face of hatred and violence directed towards the Jewish people".
The legislator added,"As anti-Semitism continues to rise in the United States and around the world, it is vital that we stand unequivocally with Jewish communities and against hateful words and acts."
In that sense, he said that the bipartisan resolution, which shows a collective stance of the US Congress, reaffirms the commitment and sends ""a strong message that the United States will always confront anti-Semitism both here at home and abroad".
Furthermore, the US legislators pointed out that prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martin had accused the Iranian government of commissioning Hezbollah to carry out the attack on July 18th, 1994. They also mentioned that the former was scheduled to present his findings before the National Congress in 2015, but a day earlier he was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in his apartment's bathroom.
For this reason, they expressed their concern "about the murder of Alberto Nisman, so that those responsible are brought to justice," as well as the delays in the investigations of the attacks at the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA, which resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people and over 500 injured between both incidents.
They also applauded the Argentine government's decision to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation and encouraged other Latin American and Caribbean allies and partners of the United States to "do the same."
On Tuesday, March 17th, 1992, a truck loaded with explosives detonated at the Israeli Embassy, located at Arroyo 910/916, completely destroying the diplomatic mission and the consulate, resulting in 22 deaths and 242 injuries. Two years later, on July 18th 1994, a similar attack occurred at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association on Pasteur Street 633, leaving 85 people dead and over 300 injured.
Comments