Five thousand, eight hundred and four-four days after the terrorist bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentina Jewish Cultural Centre) in Buenos Aires that killed 85 individuals and injured more than 100 others, both Jewish and non-Jewish, not one person responsible has been held legally accountable for the massacre. Sunday, July 18th marks the sixteenth anniversary of the tragedy, and Jewish organizations around the world commemorated the event this week not only with a prayer service and candle-lighting tribute to the victims, but with a vow by the community to not rest easy until those responsible for the heinous crime are brought to justice.
Winnipeg was the venue of two separate services in commemoration of the travesty this week, the first conducted on Thursday evening July 15 by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the Argentinian Manitoba Association, and the second conducted on Friday July 16 at noon by B’nai Brith Canada’s Winnipeg chapter. About 50 people attended the first commemoration service, while the second was attended by about 100 people.
The Culture Centre bombing occurred two years after the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 29 and wounding 242 . The Embassy bombing marked the first time that Middle East terrorism extended to South America. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. The story of the subsequent botched investigation and corrupted involvement by the Argentine government and justice system of both bombings could be characteristic of a Hollywood mystery movie, were it not so tragic and pathetic.
The Culture Centre explosion itself was detonated by a suicide bomber inside a Renault truck placed adjacent to the front entrance of the building. The truck contained 275 kilograms (600 pounds) of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil that, when detonated, destroyed the front load-bearing walls of the building, causing each of the floors above to collapse in sequence. The suicide bomber, a Lebanese citizen acting on behalf of Hezbollah and supported by Iran, was later honoured by a plaque in southern Lebanon for his “martyrdom.” Within a few years after the disaster, the Argentine government admitted that both the judiciary and the political leadership of the country were guilty of withholding and destroying evidence related to the bombings. The judge responsible for the investigation was eventually impeached, allegedly for bribing a witness to change his story, and for actually destroying evidence that would implicate the perpetrators of the crime.
More recently, the BBC reported that Interpol has placed on its wanted list an individual that it alleges was responsible for planning the Culture Centre attack—none other than Iran’s current Minister of Defence, Mr. Ahmed Vahidi.
In addition to the lives lost by so many innocent individuals in the attack, the 200,000 member Argentine Jewish community also lost irreplaceable cultural records, as well as files related to tracking Nazi war criminals in South America.
Cheryl Barish, B'nai Brith Manitoba Jewish/Christian Roundtable
Sheldon Mindell, Riverview Health Centre Foundation
Stan Carbone, Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada
Marcelo Lubocki, from Argentina
Pablo Steinberg, from Argentina
Chuck Duboff, Educator and Human Rights Advocator
Maxim Berent, President, JSA Hillel from Ukraine
Aida Strocovsky, from Argentina
Jeff Spiegel, Winnipeg Jewish Community
Iael Besendorf, JCFS, from Argentina
Silvana Benesdra, from Argentina
Sharon Blady, MLA Kirkfield Park
Joanna Quail, Winnipeg Police Service
Marcelo Rosemblit, from Argentina
Ava Block-Super, Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada
Eleonora Caporalini, Kaufman Rady JCC Childcare Centre, from Argentina
Dr. Mario Coogan, from Argentina
Dianne Dwarka, Community Legal Education Association
Alejandro Fabbro, from Argentina
Mirtha Fisher, from Argentina
Vivana Faingold, from Argentina
Jorge Feldman, from Argentina
Deborah Figoey, Rady Centre, from Argentina
Derren George, First Nations Family Worship Centre
Nathan Golstein, from Bolivia
Lucas Levy, from Argentina
Sandra Golstein, from Bolivia
Vanesa Harari, from Argentina
Constable Marty Hnatuk, RCMP
Victoria James, Bridges for Peace
Adriana Josebachvili, from Argentina
Florencia Katz, from Argentina
Ianina Levy, from Argentina
Valerie Price, Human Rights Advocator
Jimmy Walker, First Nations Family Worship Centre
Sharon Love, Group for Yiddish Heritage
Brenda Gurvey, Jewish Foundation of Manitoba
Kim Kay, Winnipeg Jewish Community
Deby Cohen, from Argentina
Jaime Faingold, from Argentina
Emily Shane, JCFS
Amalia Faingold, from Argentina
Carlos Lopez, from Argentina
Adriana Levy, from Argentina
Nora Fisher, from Argentina
Enrique Levy, from Argentina
Gaston Lopez, from Argentina
David Matas, B’nai Brith Canada
Laura Marjovsky, from Argentina
Curtis Martin, Asper Jewish Community Campus
Jean McLean, World Indigenous Nations for Israel
Hon. Christine Melnick. Minister of Water Stewardship
Stephanie Middagh, Freelance Curator
Eileen Monkman, Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary School
Graciela Najenson, Rady Centre, from Argentina
Viviana Rosemblit, Argentinean Community
Israel Binnun, Asper Jewish Community Campus, from Israel
Fred Standil, B'nai Brith Winnipeg Sports Lodge
Polin Szajt, from Argentina
Perla Golstein, from Bolivia
Erika Szpigiel, from Argentina
Dalia Szpiro, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg
Lillian Thomas, Councillor for Elmwood/East Kildonan
Gloria Walker, First Nations Family Worship Centre
Jon Waldman, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg
Carolina Weingiel, from Argentina
Hillel Taylor, B’nai Brith Yachad Couples Unit
David Cohen, Asper Jewish Community Campus, from Argentina
Renee Levy, from Argentina
Rev. Raymond McLean, First Nations Family Worship Centre
Leonid Schoichet, Asper Jewish Community Campus, from Ukraine
Claudia Chernitsky, from Argentina
Gustavo Melamedof, from Argentina
Maria Fernanda Medina, B’nai Brith Canada, from Colombia
Gustavo Levy, Co-Chair, 16th Annual AMIA Commemoration
Viviana Finkelstein, Co-Chair 16th Annual AMIA Commemoration
Emily Shane, JCFS
Barry Kay, Winnipeg Jewish Community
Alan Yusim, Midwest Region, B’nai Brith Canada
Earl J. Barish, B'nai Brith Canada