Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)
“More than three decades after the tragic AMIA Jewish Center bombing, and there’s still no justice for the 85 victims, the hundreds of injured, and countless people who were traumatized by this attack,” said Wasserman Schultz. “With antisemitism skyrocketing around the world, this gruesome attack on Argentina’s thriving Jewish community cannot go unanswered. Congressmen Diaz-Balart, Espaillat, Gonzales, and I are all proud to honor the victims of this attack and keep up the vital pursuit of justice for their loved ones.”
Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Co-Chair of the Latino-Jewish Caucus, was joined by fellow Co-Chairs, Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Tony Gonzales (TX-23) in sponsoring a resolution to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires and demanding justice and accountability for those responsible for the attack.
“More than three decades after the tragic AMIA Jewish Center bombing, and there’s still no justice for the 85 victims, the hundreds of injured, and countless people who were traumatized by this attack,” said Wasserman Schultz. “With antisemitism skyrocketing around the world, this gruesome attack on Argentina’s thriving Jewish community cannot go unanswered. Congressmen Diaz-Balart, Espaillat, Gonzales, and I are all proud to honor the victims of this attack and keep up the vital pursuit of justice for their loved ones.”
“Today, we honor and mourn the 85 innocent lives, overwhelmingly members of Argentina’s Jewish community, who were brutally murdered, and the more than 300 injured, in the deadliest antisemitic terrorist attack in Argentina’s history. On July 18, 1994, the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires was targeted in an act of blatant antisemitism,” said Diaz-Balart. “I remain committed to demanding justice and accountability for the vile perpetrators of this crime, including Iran’s former Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and other terrorists. We must never forget the victims, and we must continue to condemn the alarming rise of antisemitism wherever it appears and hold accountable those who engage in such heinous acts.”
“As co-chair of the Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus, I am proud to join my colleagues to reintroduce this resolution that recognizes the 31st anniversary of the attack on the AMIA in Buenos Aires, which was the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history,” said Espaillat. “Today’s bipartisan resolution demonstrates the Caucus’ commitment to ensuring justice for each of the victims as we embrace their families and loved ones. Terrorism and antisemitism have no place in our society, and the reintroduction of this legislation reaffirms our solidarity with the Jewish community in Argentina and around the world.”
“31 years ago, 85 souls were taken from our world far too soon in the AMIA Jewish Center bombing in Buenos Aires. We will never forget the victims, their families, and all those touched by this horrific tragedy,” said Gonzales. “Now more than ever, America needs steady voices in Congress in the fight to eradicate antisemitism. As leaders of the Latino-Jewish Caucus, this is central to our mission.”
“This week, Argentine and Jewish communities worldwide mark the 31st anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust until Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. For over three decades, American Jewish Committee (AJC) has persistently advocated for justice, urging Argentina to hold those responsible accountable. The AMIA bombing, carried out by Hezbollah operatives, is a reminder of the global threat posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies. We commend the co-chairs of the Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus, Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), and Tony Gonzales (R-TX), for their leadership and steadfast commitment to advancing truth and justice, and for sustaining awareness of the Iranian regime’s continuous destabilizing activities around the world. Let this anniversary renew our commitment to ensure the victims are never forgotten, that justice is ultimately served, and that dangerous proxies can no longer sow terror across the globe,” said Dina Siegel Vann, Director, The Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, AJC.
First established in 2011 with support from the American Jewish Committee, the bipartisan Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus has cemented stronger bonds based on Latino and Jewish communities’ shared histories as immigrants and minorities. It has also been vocal in responding to the growing wave of antisemitism across the globe in the U.S. The 25-member Caucus is now led by Reps. Wasserman Schultz, Díaz-Balart, Espaillat, and Tony Gonzales. Last July, Rep. Wasserman Schultz joined a Congressional delegation to Buenos Aires to participate in the formal 30th anniversary commemoration of the AMIA attack.
The text of House Resolution 597 can be found here and below:
Condemning the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and encouraging accountability
for the attack.
Whereas, 31 years ago, on July 18, 1994, 85 innocent people were killed and more than 300 were injured when the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Whereas at that time, 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, and sponsored by Iran, a U.S.-designated state
sponsor of terrorism since 1984;
Whereas, two years earlier, Hezbollah operatives also blew up the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 civilians and injuring 242;
Whereas the 31 years since the bombing have been marred by a failure to bring those responsible, including Iran backed operatives and their Hezbollah proxies, to justice;
Whereas, in September 2004, ten 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 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 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 regime and military operatives, and one 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—Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmad Reza Asghari, Ahmad Vahidi, Mohsen Razaee from Iran, and Imad Fayez Moughnieh from Lebanon;
Whereas INTERPOL currently has three 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, 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 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 concealing evidence;
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, on April 12th, 2024, Argentina’s highest criminal court, the Argentine Court of Cassation, broke the extended silence of the justice system by affirming Iran’s responsibility for the deadly bombing and declaring it a ‘‘crime against humanity’’;
Whereas according to news reports of the ruling, the court identified ‘‘top Iranian officials and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commanders in its determination that Iran carried out the bombings in response to Argentina scrapping three contracts that would have provided Tehran with nuclear technology in the mid-1980s’’;
Whereas Argentine President Javier Milei commended the high court’s ruling, noting that the determination was a ‘‘significant step’’ that put an end to decades of ‘‘delays and cover-ups’’;
Whereas leaders in Argentina’s Jewish community, including AMIA President Amos Linetzky, noted that the historic ruling would finally provide an opportunity for survivors and relatives of victims to seek legal action against Iran;
Whereas the Foreign Ministry of Argentina responded to the court’s ruling by requesting that INTERPOL issue an immediate international arrest notice for Ahmad Vahidi, who is now the Iranian Interior Minister, ‘‘as one of those responsible for the attack on AMIA’’
Whereas, in March 2025, Argentina passed Law No. 27.784, which allows trial in absentia, opening the door for prosecuting foreign suspects not present in the country;
Whereas, in April 2025, AMIA special prosecutor Sebastia´n Basso requested both national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei under the authority of Law No. 27.784;
Whereas, on June 26, 2025, Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas ruled that a trial in absentia would be held for the 10 men accused of planning and ordering the terrorist attack on the AMIA; and
Whereas, today, Argentina is home to more than 250,000 Jewish people, making it the largest home to Jews in Latin America and the 6th largest in the world:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) condemns the 1994 attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and remembers the victims of this heinous act;
(2) honors the memory of the victims and expresses sympathy to their relatives, who have waited for more than 3 decades without justice for the loss of their loved ones;
(3) underscores the concern of the United States regarding the continuing delay in the proper resolution of this case;
(4) calls for the perpetrators of this horrific act, including Iranian and Hezbollah operatives, to be held accountable for their crimes;
(5) commends the Government of Argentina for designating Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations and urges other United States allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to do the same;
(6) demands that INTERPOL member countries comply with arrest orders for individuals responsible for the deadly attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center; and
(7) stands in solidarity with the Jewish community of Argentina and the broader Latin American and Caribbean Jewish diaspora at a time of surging antisemitism around the world.
####