Calling for justice and accountability for the perpetrators of the bombing of the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992.

Whereas, 30 years ago, on March 17, 1992, the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the target of a horrific terrorist suicide bombing; Whereas Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack in which 29 were murdered, including Israeli diplomats, their relatives, and numerous Argentines, including children from a nearby school; Whereas 242 people were seriously wounded in the attack, including some who were unable to recover from their injuries; Whereas, in 1999, the Supreme Court of Argentina found that the transnational terrorist organization Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing and issued an arrest warrant for the arrest of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh; Whereas 2 years after the bombing of the Embassy of Israel in Argentina, on July 18, 1994, 85 people were killed in a similar Hezbollah terrorist attack on the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires; Whereas Hezbollah operatives planned both attacks in the triborder area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay; Whereas evidence demonstrates that the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, facilitated and financed the execution of these terrorist attacks; Whereas the culprits of these heinous attacks have never been brought to justice; and Whereas Argentina is home to a thriving Jewish community, the largest in Latin America: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) urges the Government of Argentina to bring the perpetrators of the March 17, 1992, terrorist attack to justice; (2) commends the Government of Argentina for designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and urges other United States allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to do the same; (3) urges United States allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to condemn and counter regional governments in the hemisphere that aid and abet Iran and Hezbollah; (4) commends the Government of Argentina for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and encourages other partners and allies to do the same; and (5) commends the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for appointing a Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the Western Hemisphere.

Summary: This resolution urges the government of Argentina to bring the perpetrators of the March 17, 1992, terrorist attack on the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires to justice (in 1999 the Supreme Court of Argentina found that the transnational terrorist organization Hezbollah was responsible for the attack). The resolution commends the Argentinian government for designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and urges other U.S. allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to do the same. The resolution urges these allies and partners to condemn and counter regional governments in the hemisphere that aid and abet Iran and Hezbollah. The resolution also commends the Argentinian government for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and encourages other partners and allies to do the same. Finally, the resolution commends the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for appointing a Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the Western Hemisphere.