[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 307 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 307
Remembering the 31st anniversary of the bombing of the Embassy of
Israel in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992, and the 29th 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 25, 2023
Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Menendez) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Remembering the 31st anniversary of the bombing of the Embassy of
Israel in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992, and the 29th 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 ``serious''
irregularities in his handling of the case;
Whereas, in October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo
Martin 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 attache 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; and
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: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, 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; and
(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.
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