Hundreds Rally in Protest of Iran-Argentina Pact
Some 300 people attended a protest rally against Argentine-Iranian cooperation in investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
Among the protestors on Feb. 14 in the Argentine capital were relatives of the survivors of the bombing of the AMIA center. Israeli and Argentinean justice authorities blame Iran for the attack.
“We ask Argentine society’s forgiveness for wasting a great privilege that democracy gave us,” Sergio Berman, a lawmaker and Reform rabbi, said in a speech at the rally. “We had the first Jewish foreign minister and that is why we say sorry.”
Argentina’s first Jewish foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, on Jan. 27 signed a memorandum with his Iranian counterpart to set up a joint “truth commission,” prompting condemnations from members and leaders of Jewish communities in Latin America and beyond.
Philosopher, poet and writer Santiago Kovadloff mocked the government for the international criticism the pact has drawn. “But our government is not alone,” he said. “Our government is with Iran.”
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has defended the pact as a way to break a long impasse and Timerman described it as a way to promote justice.
Iran has until now resisted appeals by Argentina and Interpol to amke available for interrogation top Iranian officials believed to have organized the attack, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds of others.
The Argentine Upper House is scheduled to vote on whether to ratify the memorandum for Feb. 21 followed by the Lower House six days later. The party of President Kirchner enjoys a majority in both chambers and it is likely to pass.
Alberto Nisman, a lawyer representing AMIA, has meanwhile filed a criminal complaint with federal authorities on February 14 over a threat he received recently via email warning him to abandon his investigations of the bombings within 24 hours, or risk the wellbeing of his daughters.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
