What You Need to Know:
Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, pledged at a WJC and Latin American Jewish Congress (LAJC) security forum in Buenos Aires to intensify his nation’s anti-terrorism efforts, saying, “We must be firm and relentless against terrorism. There are no nuances. There is only good and evil.” The speech came days after the country officially added Hamas to its list of recognized terror groups.
Milei delivered his remarks on Wednesday evening, ahead of the official commemoration event marking 30-years since the deadly terrorist attack targeting the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) building, the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. In that attack, the worst in Argentina’s history, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah killed 85 people and injured more than 300.
Milei was joined at the event by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, who expressed their abhorrence of hatred and violence before an audience of hundreds of Jewish, diplomatic, and political leaders. Paraguay's president also indicated that the country would soon move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The WJC summit, Building a Safer Future: 30 Years After the AMIA Bombing, held July 16–17, was co-sponsored by the Latin American Jewish Congress in partnership with AMIA and Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (DAIA), the umbrella organization of Argentina’s Jewish community. The global event was the first of its kind since the October 7 attacks and the recent conflict in Gaza and was intended to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to combating terrorism and antisemitism.
The official ceremony of the Argentinian Jewish community honoring the terror victims was held on the street where the attack occurred at 9:53 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Program Highlights:
Other components of the summit included:
- A meeting of WJC’s Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA) Forum: Following a meeting at Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Amb. Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, presented a set of global guidelines and best practices for formulating policy pertaining to the fight against antisemitism, members of the forum met with Jewish community leaders from 22 countries. The discussion centered on the current state of global antisemitism in the wake of the October 7 attacks and how to efficiently implement the recommendations shared by Lipstadt. Key speakers at the SECCA session included Mr. Maram Stern, WJC Executive Vice President; Mrs. Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life; Amb. Lipstadt; Mrs. Michal Cotler-Wunsch, Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel; and H.E. Mrs. Diana Mondino, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina. Addressing summit participants during earlier public remarks on Tuesday evening, Amb. Lipstadt said, “Antisemitism at its most basic is a threat to Jews, Jewish institutions and those associated with Jews. But it’s more than solely that. Antisemitism is also a threat to democracy.” Watch Amb. Lipstadt's call for justice on Instagram.
- A gathering of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP): Members of WJC’s ICJP forum, including a U.S. congressional delegation led by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, met with a group of nearly 40 members of national parliaments from across Latin America. The government officials, who heard remarks from Rep. Steny Hoyer of the U.S. House of Representatives, signed a joint declaration to counter terrorism. Hosted by H.E. Mr. Martín Menem, President of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, the meeting of parliamentarians also featured a presentation and discussion on legislative and regulatory counter-terrorism methods.
- Security and interior ministers from eight Latin American nations met on Wednesday as part of the WJC program for a meeting hosted by H.E. Mrs. Patricia Bullrich, the Minister of Security of Argentina. The ministers shared their strategies and best practices to ensure public safety and also addressed emerging security challenges.
- On Thursday, July 18, Argentina’s Jewish community held an official memorial ceremony in front of the AMIA building, honoring the victims on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the AMIA Bombing.Following the ceremony, participants affiliated with the WJC visited the AMIA building to pay their respects and learn how the community is thriving today.To close out the program, the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism, chaired by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Canadian MP Anthony Housefather, met to address the growing threat of antisemitism on digital platforms and to discuss strategies for effective intervention.
WJC Report Shines Light on Use of Online Platforms by Terror Groups:
At a joint-meeting of the ICJP members and the SECCA Forum, the WJC unveiled a groundbreaking report documenting how Islamist terror groups use alternative online communication channels to amplify their deadly message. According to the document, titled, “From Virtual Vortex to Real Life Violence. The Links Between Online Antisemitism & Offline Terrorism,” while social media platforms have made efforts to reduce the volume of content that explicitly supports and/or promotes terrorist groups like Hamas, PIJ, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State, the case studies in this research demonstrate the ways in which these groups continue to innovate their communications strategies to circumvent platform policy changes and influence Western audiences. Speakers at this session included Adv. David Scharia, Director and Chief of Branch, Counter Terrorism, United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate; Dr. Gustavo Galante, Prosecutor, Argentina; Ms. Marie-Sarah Seeberger, International Affairs, Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF); Mr. Eric Ebenstein, Senior Director of Public Policy, TikTok; Mr. Adi Cohen, Memetica; and Adv. Yfat Barak-Cheney, Director of the Institute for Technology and Human Rights, World Jewish Congress.
What Leaders Had to Say:
“The bombing of AMIA, the center of Jewish life in Buenos Aires, shocked Jews around the world,” said Amb. Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. “Three decades later, the World Jewish Congress is proud to have convened top leaders to stand in solidarity with Argentinian Jewry and to counter global antisemitism and all other forms of hate.”
U.S. President Joe Biden penned a letter that was read aloud at the event by Amb. Marc Stanley, U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. “We must all do our part,” the president said. “Together – every nation, every government, and every person... must refuse to give hate safe harbor. We must forcefully speak out against antisemitism. And we must stand up against terror and violence, which have claimed far too many lives.”
Pope Francis, a native of Buenos Aires, also shared a letter to be read at the event. “Today, together, we reaffirm that we will not lower our arms in the pursuit of justice,” he said. “A justice that seeks not vengeance or reprisal but truth and reparation. A justice that is essential not only for the affected families but also for the cohesion of the nation's social fabric. Respect for every human life and the dignity it carries must prevail over hatred and division. This is the foundation upon which we build the common good, not only to honor those we have lost, but to protect future generations.” “We stand with our brothers and sisters of the Argentinian Jewish community to pay homage and to honor the victims and express our enduring and heartfelt support to their families and to the survivors of those bombings,” Robert Goot, Chair of the World Jewish Congress Policy Council, said in an address at the Wednesday event. “They are the ones who... have grieved, have agonized over and suffered from, not just the catastrophic events themselves, but also from the alleged mishandling, intrigue, incompetence, and corruption that have marred the investigation into the bombings and have failed to bring anyone to justice.”
"Our commitment to justice is unbreakable. Without the perpetrators of the AMIA terrorist attack being brought to justice, we cannot ensure that they will not attack again,” said Claudio Epelman, Executive Director of the Latin American Jewish Congress and WJC’s representative in South America. "Cooperation in security matters and strengthening dialogue regarding hate speech and discrimination are key to fighting terrorism and antisemitism," he added.
“One of my messages will be clear; we need to implement strategies to rid our societies of Antisemitism and hate. And it’s up to us as elected officials to implement these policies and make them real. So, I appreciate my parliamentarians for being here with us. Let us take back what we learn here and implement that through our laws in our countries,” said U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin. “We're here to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the AMIA bombing, and the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of the Israel Embassy. We can never forget what happened here in Buenos Aires. We can never forget the victims of these terrorist attacks. We are committed, in their memory, to make sure that justice is provided and accountability for all of the perpetrators, in fact takes place,” he added.
READ MORE about the WJC and LAJC’s summit Building a Safer Future: 30 Years After the AMIA Bombing.
