A resolution remembering the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992, and the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the victims of the attacks.

Bill: 118-sres-758
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2024-07-10
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-07-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S4345-4346)

Summaries:

tv_txt: III 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 758 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 10, 2024 Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Cardin ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Remembering the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992, and the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the victims of the attacks.

Whereas, on March 17, 1992, a truck laden with explosives struck and detonated at the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and wounding more than 200 others; Whereas Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America and the sixth largest in the world, outside Israel; Whereas, in 1999, the Supreme Court of Argentina, after conducting an investigation, found that the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing, which claimed the lives of Israeli diplomats, their relatives, and numerous Argentine citizens and children; Whereas 2 years after the bombing of the Embassy of Israel in Argentina, on July 18, 1994, a car bomb detonated at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and wounding more than 300 others, rendering it the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history; Whereas, for 25 years, the investigation into the AMIA bombing has been stymied by international inaction, political interference, investigative misconduct, and allegations of cover-ups, including the removal of the Federal judge in charge of the case in 2005 for supposed serious irregularities in his handling of the case; Whereas, in October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martín Burgos formally accused the Government of Iran of directing Hezbollah to carry out the AMIA bombing; Whereas the Argentine prosecutors charged Iranian nationals as suspects in the AMIA bombing, including— (1) Ali Fallahijan, Iran’s former intelligence minister; (2) Mohsen Rabbani, Iran’s former cultural attaché in Buenos Aires; (3) Ahmad Reza Asghari, a former Iranian diplomat posted to Argentina; (4) Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s former defense minister; (5) Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign minister; (6) Mohsen Rezaee, former chief commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; (7) Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran; and (8) Hadi Soleimanpour, former Iranian ambassador to Argentina; Whereas, in November 2007, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) published Red Notices on 5 of the Iranian nationals and Hezbollah operative Ibrahim Hussein Berro; Whereas those with INTERPOL Red Notices have repeatedly traveled internationally with impunity on more than 20 occasions since 2007; Whereas, in May 2013, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman published a 500-page report accusing the Government of Iran of establishing terrorist networks throughout Latin America; Whereas, in January 2015, Mr. Nisman released the results of an investigation alleging that then-President Fernandez de Kirchner and then-Foreign Minister Timerman conspired to cover up Iranian involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing and that they had agreed to negotiate immunity for Iranian suspects and secure the removal of the INTERPOL Red Notices; Whereas Mr. Nisman was scheduled to present his findings to a commission of the Argentine National Congress on January 19, 2015, but on January 18, 2015, was found dead as the result of a gunshot wound to his head in his apartment in Buenos Aires; Whereas, to date, no one has been brought to justice for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, or the death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman; Whereas the Third Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Buenos Aires requested— (1) on October 18, 2022, that Qatar detain Mohsen Rezaee; and (2) on June 15, 2023, that Argentinian authorities and INTERPOL work together to apprehend Lebanese nationals Hussein Mounir Mouzannar, Ali Hussein Abdallah, Farouk Abdul Hay Omairi, and Abdallah Salman for the role of these individuals in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center; and Whereas, in April 2024, the Supreme Court of Argentina found that Iran was responsible for the AMIA attack and declared it a crime against humanity: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina and the 1994 attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires; (2) honors the victims of the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina and the 1994 AMIA bombing and expresses its sympathy to the relatives of the victims who are still waiting for justice; (3) underscores the concern of the United States regarding the continuing, decades-long delay in resolving the 1992 and 1994 terrorist attacks in Argentina and urges the President of the United States to offer technical assistance to the Government of Argentina to support the ongoing investigations; (4) urges the Government of Argentina and the international community to continue efforts to bring the perpetrators of the March 17, 1992, and July 18, 1994, terrorist attacks to justice, including by— (A) enforcing the Red Notices issued by the International Criminal Police Organization; and (B) extending such Red Notices prior to expiration; (5) calls upon the Government of Argentina to conclude the investigation into the murder of Alberto Nisman so the responsible individuals are brought to justice; (6) 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; (7) 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 (8) calls on the United States Government to continue to support efforts to hold Iran accountable for the AMIA attacks.