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NEW YORK, July 14, 2014--(PR Newswire)--
AJC Remembers Victims of 1994 AMIA Bombing
NEW YORK, July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC marks with deep sadness
the 20th anniversary of the terror bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center
in Buenos Aires. "The target was a Jewish institution, the victims were of
different faiths, and an entire country, Argentina, continues to search for
justice," said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latino and Latin
American Institute (LLAI).
Eighty-five people, Jews and non-Jews, ranging in age from five to 73, died, and
another 300 were injured, when a powerful bomb leveled the AMIA building at 9:53
AM on July 18, 1994. An Argentine investigation concluded that Iran was
responsible.
AMIA is an AJC international partner, and AJC has stood at the side of the local
Jewish community from the first moments of the tragedy, when an AJC group
traveled to Buenos Aires, calling for justice and warning about the ongoing
Iranian attempts to gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.
Several AJC regional offices across the U.S. will hold community memorial events
on July 17 and 18.
In Miami, on July 17, AJC LLAI will host its ninth annual commemorative
ceremony. Miguel Bronfman, the principal lawyer for AMIA, will deliver the
keynote address, and the consuls general of Argentina and Israel in Miami will
speak.
Similar commemorative events will take place in Chicago, on July 17, and in
Philadelphia on July 18.
The AMIA attack was the deadliest against a Jewish target in the Diaspora in
decades. In 2007, Argentine government prosecutor Alberto Nisman concluded that
Iran bears direct responsibility for the attack, and Interpol has since been
seeking the apprehension of five Iranian officials. In addition, there are
pending investigations into the local connection and cover up of this crime
which hindered the pursuit of justice.
Families of the victims and survivors are forever scarred. "My life changed
forever," says Anita Weinstein, who was inside the building that morning,
preparing for the organization's centennial celebrations that year.
Weinstein and AMIA Executive Director Daniel Pomerantz addressed the AMIA
tribute session at the AJC Global Forum in Washington, DC in May.
SOURCE American Jewish Committee
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2052120
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