T

wo weeks ago, events were held in 
Buenos Aires, Argentina, to com-
memorate the 30th anniversary of the 

bombing of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual 
Israelita Argentina) Jewish community center. 
Until Oct. 7, 2023, this was the worst attack 
on Jews since the Holocaust. In a senseless 
truck bombing, 85 people died and more 
than 300 were wounded. It was an event that 
still shapes Argentine Jewish 
history.

Delegates from around 
the globe arrived in Buenos 
Aires for the 30th anniversary 
memorial of the bombing, 
and to launch the “Global 
Guidelines for Countering 
Antisemitism,” a plan of 
action for governments and civil/commu-
nal organizations. U.S. antisemitism envoy 
Deborah Lipstadt was in attendance, along 
with a delegation led by U.S. Senate Foreign 
Relations Chair Ben Cardin of Maryland. 
Despite years of complaints by the Jewish 
community in Argentina — as well as from 
Jews around the world — various Argentine 
governments have never brought anyone 
responsible for the bombing to justice. In 
April 2024, an Argentine Court finally ruled 
and expressed what was commonly thought 
— Iran was behind the AMIA bombing, and 
agents of Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy based 
in Lebanon, carried out the attack. 
Recently elected Argentine President Javier 
Milei, a sympathetic supporter of the coun-
try’s Jewish community and Zionism, has 
promised to end the decades of slow-walking 
investigations into the attack. Moreover, ear-
lier this month, Argentina became the first 
Latin American nation to declare Hamas a 
terrorist organization. These are promising 
moves. We’ll see how it goes. 
At the least, however, the 30th anniversary 
of the heinous AMIA bombing was front 
and center in global news, hopefully raising 
awareness of antisemitism. It also piqued 
my interest about reporting on Argentina 
in the William Davidson Digital Archive 

of Jewish Detroit History. I was sur-
prised. Nearly 3,500 pages mention 
Argentina; the first references were in 
the Chronicle in 1916.

Argentina can claim Jewish residents 
as early as the 16th century. After its 
independence from Spain in 1816, 
its Jewish community began to flour-
ish. As of 2024, the Jewish population 
is estimated to be 171,000, the fourth 
largest Jewish community in the world 
and largest in South America. 
Argentina’s record regarding Jews 
is uneven. While it stood as a haven 
for Jews for several centuries, it also 
protected Nazis fleeing Europe after 
WWII. For a prime example, one 
only needs to reference Adolf 
Eichmann, the infamous engineer 
of the “Final Solution.
” He had been 
living in Argentina’s German com-
munity for many years until captured 
by the Mossad and brought to trial in 
Israel in 1960.
The JN reported the AMIA bombing. 
See the July 29, 1994, issue of the JN 
for “Horror in Buenos Aires” or “Blast 
Shocks U.S. Jews,
” along with “
Argentine 
Jewry Faces Many Changes.
” The most 
interesting reading is the lengthy fea-
ture piece in the Nov. 18, 1994, issue: 
“
A Heartsick Community Struggles to 
Regain Its Footing.
”
BTW — as they have so often in their 
history when people are in need, Jewish 
Detroiters sent support to the Argentine 
Jewish community.
The contemporary reports about the 
bombing in the JN show the severe impact 
it had upon a longstanding, peaceful Jewish 
community. The AMIA bombing was an 
utter shock, one that still shapes modern 
Argentina, much like the attacks on 9-11 in 
America and Oct. 7 in Israel will resonate 
forever. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, avail-
able for free at thejewishnews.com.

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

A Somber Anniversary

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

54 | AUGUST 1 • 2024 
J
N

