July 18, 1994 to July 18, 2007 — Memory and Justice in Buenos Aires

A banner on the street across from the re-built Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, noting 12 years, six months since the July 18, 1994 bombing.  (JCI Photo taken in January 2007).

The New York Sun reports today:

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Sirens will sound across Argentina this morning as the nation marks the anniversary of the biggest attack on a Jewish community outside Israel since World War II.

The car-bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires 13 years ago killed 85 people and injured 300. No one has been convicted of the crime.

At 9:53 a.m., the time of the explosion, sirens of all federal police cars, motorcycles, and precincts will be set off, along with those of fire trucks and fire stations.

Sounding the sirens is part of a call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, said Aldo Donzis, president of the Delegation of Jewish Associations, which is coordinating commemorative services this week.

Wikipedia reports on the investigation of the bombing since 1994:

Over the years, the case has been marked by incompetence and accusations of cover-ups. All suspects in the "local connection" (among whom many members of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police) were found to be not guilty in September 2004. In August 2005, federal judge Juan José Galeano, in charge of the case, was impeached and removed from his post on charge of "serious" irregularities and of mishandling of the investigation.

On October 25, 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos formally accused the government of Iran of directing the bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out. According to the prosecution’s claims in 2006, Argentina had been targeted by Iran after Buenos Aires’ decision to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran.

A large sign at the end of the street marks the date of the bombing and commemorates the victims. Trees are placed behind mall memorials to each person murdered.  The event is very much a current event in Buenos Aires, more than a decade after it occurred.  The investigation is continuing, and independent journalists are also investigating.  (JCI Photos).