Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, an event that left a deep scar in the history of the country and in the collective memory.
On March 17, 1992, at 2:45 p.m., a car bomb detonated at Arroyo and Suipacha, in front of the diplomatic headquarters in the heart of Buenos Aires. The impact of the explosion claimed the lives of 29 people, 22 of whom were identified, and injured more than 200, making it the first international terrorist attack perpetrated against Argentina.
The attack, attributed to terrorist organizations, shocked Argentine society and generated deep consternation at international level. Two years later, a similar attack destroyed the headquarters of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (A.M.I.A.) in the same city on Monday, July 18, 1994, this time 85 people were killed and another 300 injured.
Throughout these three decades, the emotional and physical aftermath persists, leaving an indelible mark in the lives of the victims and their families. Time has not mitigated the pain nor diminished the impact of this act of violence that affected not only the Jewish community, but the entire Argentine society.
In honor of the victims and as a commitment to memory, on March 17, 2000, the "Embassy of Israel" Plaza was inaugurated on the same site where the diplomatic building was located. This space became a meeting point for relatives and survivors to keep alive the memory of the victims. The Plaza, loaded with symbolic elements such as stones, water, trees and the play of light and shadows, preserves intact the dividing wall, as it was after the explosion, as a kind of architectural scar that reminds us of an open historical wound.
In 2017, the National Congress passed Law 27,417 establishing March 17 as "Day of Remembrance and Solidarity with the Victims of the Attack on the Embassy of Israel".
This March 17 we do not forget, we remember and honor those who lost their lives and those who suffered the consequences of this brutal act. We renew our commitment to peace, freedom and justice.
