Buenos Aires, Argentina — On every anniversary of the deadly 1994 attack on Argentina’s largest Jewish community center, Diana Malamud said she endures a brutal “Groundhog Day.”
In their version of the Kafkaesque nightmare that traps them again and again on the same day, the presidents repeat the same promises to seek justice for the car bomb in the center which killed 85 people, including Malamud’s architect husband, Andrés, injured 300 others, and deeply disrupted Jewish communities across the continent.
No one has ever been convicted for their role in the attack, considered one of the deadliest anti-Semitic attacks since World War II.
On Thursday, the 30th anniversary of the attack, libertarian President Javier Milei – a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” who came to power on a wave of popular rage against the political establishment – became Argentina’s 11th leader to pledge renewed efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
His combative anti-Iran rhetoric, pro-Israel foreign policy, and radical state reforms have sparked cautious optimism about his commitment to breaking the cycle of time.
But many remain unconvinced after three decades of an investigation marred by corruption, confusion and intrigue.
“Years go by, but nothing happens,” said Malamud, 64, a member of Memoria Activa, a group of victims’ relatives that has pushed for accountability. “On these anniversaries, the government makes very important announcements that never serve any purpose, and the terrible thing is that what we want most seems almost impossible to achieve.”
A memorial siren sounded at the community center, known by its Spanish acronym AMIA, on Thursday at 9:53 a.m., the exact minute the attack occurred 30 years ago, beginning a day of moving speeches and solemn vigils.
“It is incredible that 30 years have passed since that cold morning of July 18, 1994, 30 years without a single person being held accountable for this attack,” said the head of the AMIA, Amos Linetzky, from the funeral, raising his voice with frustration while recounting the decades of total impunity “Thirty years in which the Argentine State has looked the other way.”
Milei was in the audience, a day after taking the podium at a conference hosted by the nonprofit World Jewish Congress, where he strongly denounced Iran as “the dark hand” behind deadly militant attacks from Argentina to Israel.
Argentine prosecutors have repeatedly blamed Iran for directing the attack and sending the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to execute it, claims denied by Iran.
“There is no reasonable person who doubts that sectors of Iran’s fanatical government are behind these atrocities,” Milei said Wednesday night. equating Hamas militant attack against Israel on October 7 with the attack on the AMIA as well as a deadly attack in 1992 on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.
The president’s condemnation of Iran is nothing new, but his hardline stance is.
His administration has been surprisingly vocal in its defense of Israel. since the October 7 attackspromising to move the Argentine embassy to disputed Jerusalem and supporting the Israeli army’s devastating campaign in Gaza, in contrast to neighbor countries who have withdrawn ambassadors and even cut ties with Israel.
Milei has also professed a deep spiritual connection with Judaism and forged close ties with Argentina’s Jewish community, the largest in South America. Although Milei has not yet converted to Judaism, she studies Torah and consults regularly with a personal rabbi, Shimon Axel Wahnish, whom she has appointed the country’s ambassador to Israel.
The dramatic shift in foreign policy – after previous Argentine governments tried to collaborate with Iran to investigate the bombing – has delighted Israel and Jewish advocacy groups.
“What’s different, finally, is that there is a new president in Argentina,” said Ted Deutch, executive director of the American Jewish Committee and former U.S. congressman, praising the “shared values” that he says now unite Argentina, the United States. United and Israel in new ways. “The president of the country speaks clearly on this issue in a way that resonates with him.”
In his commemorative speech, AMIA’s Linetzky thanked Milei for designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and pressured him to continue prioritizing the case.
Last week, Milei unveiled the terrorism designation, announced a revamp of the intelligence services and promised to introduce legislation that would allow the trial of suspects in absentia. Despite notifications from Interpol about their arrests, several Lebanese and Iranian nationals accused of involvement in the attack, including Iran’s Interior Minister, remain at large.
Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held the Argentine state responsible for failing to prevent the attack and for its deliberate efforts to obstruct justice. He ordered the Argentine government to continue its investigations.
Members of Memoria Activa celebrated the order of the Inter-American Court, whose jurisdiction Argentina recognizes. But they said they have little faith that their government will close the case.
“We’ve seen these gestures before, but the important thing is to move from gestures and words to concrete actions,” said Enrique Greenberg, 53, a member of Memoria Activa.
Argentina superior criminal court Earlier this year he issued his first ruling on the case, naming the same Iranian and Lebanese officials who have long been blamed and upholding the convictions, and some acquittals, of judicial officials accused of participating in a major cover-up to protect Iran.
Active Memory has complained that the sentences are too few and too light.
As usual, the group held their own vigil in downtown Buenos Aires at the same time as the AMIA ceremony; The distance of 1.5 kilometers (about a mile) that separates them is a product of the bitter divisions that the elusive search for justice has generated within Argentina. Jewish community.
There were no government officials at the Active Memory service, where Malamud gave a tribute similar to the 29 speeches he gave previously. However, she was moved to tears.
“As has happened to me so many times, in this square,” he said, “Andrés’s face comes to me like a wink.”
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Débora Rey contributed to this report.
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