Argentina declares Hamas a terrorist organization, in move designed to show support for Israel
The declaration comes days before the 30th anniversary of a deadly attack on Buenos Aires’ Jewish community center
Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks at an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Holocaust museum in Buenos Aires, Jan. 26, 2024. (Juan Melamed)
(JTA) — BUENOS AIRES — Argentina has officially designated Hamas an “international terrorist organization,” in a show of support for Israel that extends President Javier Milei’s shift away from the country’s pro-Palestinian past.
Milei’s office announced the move on Friday, citing Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the group’s links with Iran and a recent landmark ruling by Argentina’s judiciary that Iran was the architect of two deadly terror attacks in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
The announcement attributed the declaration to Milei’s “unwavering commitment to recognizing terrorists for what they are.”
Argentina’s Jewish political umbrella organization, DAIA, praised Milei’s move. “The representative entity of the Argentine Jewish community welcomes the historic act,” the group said in a statement on X.
The declaration is largely symbolic but does mean that any assets tied to Hamas in Argentina can be frozen. The government agency that will now pursue Hamas’ assets previously identified and froze some assets tied to Hezbollah while the Argentinian government was on its way to declaring the Lebanon-based group a terror organization.
That declaration came just before the 25th anniversary of the AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people on July 18, 1994. The new announcement comes days before the 30th anniversary of the bombing, which Argentina attributes to Hezbollah and Iran. (Both groups have denied responsibility.)
Jewish groups including World Jewish Congress and the Latin American Jewish Congress are hosting an anti-terrorism summit in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, in advance of a Wednesday morning demonstration in front of the rebuilt and recently refurbished AMIA building that international leaders are expected to attend.
Milei — whose embrace of Israel aligns with both his right-wing politics and his personal affinity for Judaism — is expected to speak, along with U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, Canadian antisemitism envoy Deborah Lyons, local Jewish leaders and officials from across Latin America.
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