US senators introduce resolution to remember 1994 bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish center

The bipartisan measure was initiated on the 25th anniversary of the deadly AMIA attack.

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(JTA) — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution on Thursday to remember the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the resolution on the 25th anniversary of the attack on the AMIA Jewish center. The bombing in the Argentine capital left 85 people dead and hundreds more injured.

The perpetrators have still not been brought to justice. Argentina and Israel have long blamed Iran and implicated several former Iranian officials and Hezbollah in the attack, in addition to the March 17, 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 and injured more than 200.

Menendez and Rubio were joined by four co-sponsors: Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; and Todd Young, R-Ind.

“It is critical that the U.S. recommit to helping the Government of Argentina in their investigation,” Menendez said in a statement. “The Argentinian people have waited long enough for answers.”

Rubio added that the lawmakers were recommitting “to helping the Government of Argentina seek justice for the victims and their families.”

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that has advocated in the United States for probing the AMIA attack, noted that the resolution points out that the “suspects continue to travel globally with impunity.”

“Our research shows that those with Interpol red notices and international arrest warrants from Argentina have collectively traveled to twenty countries without being stopped or apprehended,” FDD’s senior vice president, Toby Dershowitz, said in a statement.

Separately, the White House released a statement saying that it “stands with the people of Argentina and the Jewish community as we reflect upon that terrible day in Argentina’s history.”

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