On July 18, 1994, a car packed with explosives drove into the AMIA Jewish Community Center of Buenos Aires, reducing it to rubble and leaving 85 people dead and more than 300 injured. To this day, the victims and their families have not seen the justice they deserve, and the Argentine government maintains a permanent call for those responsible for this attack to be reached with the weight of the law.
Two years priors to this seminal attack, humanity was aggrieved by another act of terror against the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires, reducing it to dust and causing death and pain. Two attacks that shared in common the same perpetrators and the same masterminds.
Those responsible have been identified and continue to be sheltered by a member country of the United Nations, Iran, which publicly proclaims the will to make Israel, another member state of the UN, disappear.
In order to pay tribute to the victims and keep alive the demand for justice, we have compiled a special book in to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the attack that changed Argentina, and Latin America as a whole.
World leaders from across the spectrum were invited to reflect on international terrorism, and on the difficult path lies ahead to end this scourge. Raising our voices together as one is not simply a choice; it is a necessity.
We extend our deep thanks to those who joined in on this initiative of the Latin American Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress, to share their valuable testimonies with the world.
These pages are a sign of our solidarity with all victims of the terrorism that afflicts our world, as well as their families and their nations.
Their stories are a testimony to our demands for truth and justice. A testimony of what occurred that fateful day on July 18 in Buenos Aires, and the struggle that has continued for more than 25 years.
The search for justice knows no rest. It is a constant task that will not end even when justice is served over the AMIA bombing. It can end only when the world no longer must bear witness to loss of life and liberty at the hand of terror.
Adrian Werthein is the president of the Latin American Jewish Congress, the regional affiliate of the World Jewish Congress. This piece was originally published in the Jewish News of London.