[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 600 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 600
Condemning the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association Jewish
Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and
expressing the concern of the United States regarding the continuing,
29-year-long delay in the resolution of this case and encouraging
accountability for the attack.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 18, 2023
Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Espaillat, and
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association Jewish
Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and
expressing the concern of the United States regarding the continuing,
29-year-long delay in the resolution of this case and encouraging
accountability for the attack.
Whereas 29 years ago, on July 18, 1994, 85 innocent people were killed and 300
were injured when the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) was
bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Whereas the AMIA bombing was the deadliest attack on Jewish people outside
Israel since the Holocaust;
Whereas it is reported that considerable evidence links the attack to the
terrorist group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, supported by the
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, and sponsored by the Government
of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Whereas, 2 years earlier, Hezbollah operatives also blew up the Israeli Embassy
in Buenos Aires, killing 29 civilians;
Whereas the 29 years since the bombing have been marked by a failure to bring
those responsible, including Iranian officials and their Hezbollah
proxies, to justice;
Whereas, in September 2004, 10 years after the attack, Alberto Nisman was
appointed as the Special Prosecutor in charge of the 1994 AMIA bombing
investigation;
Whereas, in October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo
Martinez Burgos formally accused the Iranian regime of directing the
bombing, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out;
Whereas Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a member of the terrorist group Hezbollah, was
identified as the AMIA bomber;
Whereas, in November 2006, an Argentine judge issued arrest warrants for 8
Iranian nationals, including high-ranking government and military
officials, and 1 Lebanese national who were named as suspects in the
AMIA bombing;
Whereas, in November 2007, Interpol voted to put the following suspects in the
1994 AMIA attack on its most wanted list:
(1) Ali Fallahijan from Iran.
(2) Mohsen Rabbani from Iran.
(3) Ahmad Reza Asghari from Iran.
(4) Ahmad Vahidi from Iran.
(5) Mohsen Razaee from Iran.
(6) Imad Fayez Moughnieh from Lebanon.
Whereas Interpol currently has 4 red alerts in place in relation to the AMIA
attack;
Whereas, on January 13, 2015, prosecutor Alberto Nisman alleged in a complaint
that then-Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and then-
Minister of Foreign Relations Hector Timerman conspired to cover up
Iranian involvement in the 1994 terrorist bombing, and reportedly agreed
to negotiate immunity for Iranian suspects and help get their names
removed from the Interpol list;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman was scheduled to present his new findings to
the Argentinian Congress on January 19, 2015;
Whereas prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found shot in the head in his apartment in
Buenos Aires on January 18, 2015;
Whereas the investigation of the AMIA bombing has been marked by judicial
misconduct and undue influence;
Whereas no Iranian suspects for the AMIA bombing have yet faced prosecution;
Whereas former Federal judge Juan Jose Galeano and former State Intelligence
Secretariat intelligence head Hugo Anzorreguy have both been convicted
and sentenced to prison for subverting the investigation and miscarriage
of justice;
Whereas Carlos Telleldin was convicted and sentenced to prison for his role in
assisting the perpetrators carry out their heinous attack;
Whereas, in 2019, the Argentine Government declared Hezbollah a terrorist
organization, expelled all members of the organization from the country,
and froze their assets in Argentina;
Whereas, in 2020, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez reaffirmed the
commitment of the Argentine Republic to bring those responsible for the
attack to justice;
Whereas, in 2021, Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rezai, 2 Iranian suspects from the
1994 bombing, were appointed by President Ebrahim Raisi and confirmed by
the Islamic Consultative Assembly to the Iranian Cabinet; and
Whereas today, Argentina is home to over 250,000 Jewish people, making it the
largest home to Jews in Latin America and the sixth-largest in the
world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the 1994 attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual
Association Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
and honors the victims of this heinous act;
(2) expresses sympathy to the relatives of the victims, who
have waited for over a quarter of a century without justice for
the loss of their loved ones, and may have to wait even longer
for justice to be served;
(3) underscores the concern of the United States regarding
the continuing, 29-year-long delay in the proper resolution of
this case; and
(4) calls for the perpetrators of this horrific act,
including Iranian and Hezbollah operatives, to be held
accountable for their crimes.
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