B’nai B’rith International commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1994 AMIA bombing through remembrance activities and memorial events in Buenos Aires. The Washington Jewish Week covered our commemoration of the deadliest terrorist attack in Latin America’s history.

Read in the Washington Jewish Week.

B’nai B’rith International commemorated the 30th anniversary of the AMIA bombing through remembrance activities and memorial events starting on July 18 in Buenos Aires, according to a press release.

Adriana Camisar, the B’nai B’rith special adviser on Latin American and United Nations affairs, attended a series of commemorative events alongside global officials, including Argentine President Javier Milei, other Latin American leaders and members of Congress. The events emphasized the ongoing lack of justice for the victims of the attack and the Jewish community in Argentina.

On July 18, 1994, a car bomb targeted the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association, a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The Iran-backed Hezbollah attack killed 85 and injured more than 300 in what remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Latin America’s history.

Speakers at the July 18 event included Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli; Vice President of Argentina Victoria Villarruel; Jacob Hagoel, president of the World Zionist Organization; and Israeli Ambassador Eyal Sela.

The commemoration comes one week after the Argentine government presented the “trial in absentia” bill to Congress, which allows a criminal proceeding in which the defendant is not present in court. Camisar has worked on the legislative action for years.

“This is a very important anniversary because it marks 30 years of impunity,” Camisar said. “The survivors, the relatives of the victims and all the people of Argentina deserve to finally see that the perpetrators are being brought to justice.”

The Trial in Absentia bill mandates that those accused face trial even if they choose not to appear before Argentine courts since many are protected by Iran. This process allows defendants to request a comprehensive review of the judgment, ensuring due process.

“The recent bill introduced by the government to enable trials in absentia in Argentina is the only answer to get some measure of justice, given that the accused are protected by the Iranian regime and continue to refuse to appear before the Argentine courts,” Camisar said.

In a July 17 address, Milei said his government would also improve its national intelligence system to prevent similar attacks from happening. He also vowed to allocate more resources to investigating the AMIA attack.

In April, Argentina’s top criminal court blamed Iran for the AMIA attack, claiming it was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists, according to The Jerusalem Post.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement on July 18 in honor of the bombing’s 30th anniversary.

“Until the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 last year, the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center had been the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust,” Blinken wrote. “Today’s somber commemoration comes in the midst of an alarming surge in global antisemitism. We are seeing a dramatic increase in violent incidents and hateful discourse against Jews and Jewish communal institutions and businesses in many countries, including the United States.”

He added that on the day before, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt joined more than 30 international counterparts in launching the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism.

Milei likened the attack on Israel to the 1994 bombing, urging for the release of all of the hostages, eight of which are Argentines.