Some say that the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center was an attack against the Jewish community. Others argue that it was an attack against Argentina as a whole.
Both are right: the attack took place on Argentinian soil and specifically targeted the Jewish community. But I prefer to say that it was an attack against humanity itself. That is the essence of terrorism: to sow fear as a strategy to undermine the very foundations of morality and civilization.
I still remember that tragic Monday, July 18, 1994. I was at home, about 20 blocks from the AMIA building, when at 9:53 a.m. I heard the explosion and felt the walls shake. The images on television showed the unimaginable. Once again.
Barely two years after the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, it was happening all over again: the same enemies, the same terrorists, in the same city. This time with even greater cruelty – 85 lives, ordinary citizens like any one of us, torn from this world, leaving behind grieving families, loved ones, and shattered dreams.
We live in an increasingly polarized world. Evil has become ever more fanatical and extremist, and for that very reason, the forces of good must also become stronger, more united, and more vocal. Today, more than ever, silence is no longer an option; silence is an accomplice to terror.
In a world that too often chooses the comfort of silence, President Javier Milei has distinguished himself through his courageous and unwavering stand against terrorism and antisemitism. He unequivocally condemned the cowardly terrorist attacks of October 7 and firmly defended Israel’s right to self-defense.
He designated Hamas and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organizations and expelled Iran’s chargé d’affaires from Argentina. This year, Argentina also assumed the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), becoming the first Latin American country to do so.
Whereas previous Argentinian governments signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran – effectively obscuring responsibility for the attacks despite the Argentinian judiciary’s determination that the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxy Hezbollah were responsible – Milei chose instead to sign the Memorandum for Freedom and Democracy with Israel to combat terrorism and antisemitism. He then expanded that vision to the entire region through the Isaac Accords.
This final point is especially significant because it is no longer merely a bilateral initiative, but a regional project. Inspired by US President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords, the Isaac Accords seek to establish a strategic framework for strengthening cooperation between Latin America and Israel among those nations committed to defending life, liberty, and democracy, while combating terrorism and antisemitism. Under Javier Milei’s leadership, Argentina has become a regional model and beacon for these values.
Ultimately, President Milei has chosen to place Argentina on the right side of history.
Choosing life in the face of terror
Although today we gather to commemorate the victims of the AMIA bombing, we cannot afford the naivety of a narrow view of history. Terrorist attacks must never be seen as isolated events; they are links in a global strategy of terror.
The bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, the AMIA bombing, the September 11 attacks, October 7, and the long and tragic list of countless other atrocities are all part of the same chain: the campaign of radical Islamist terrorism that seeks to destroy the foundations of Western civilization and undermine peace, coexistence, and genuine tolerance.
It is no coincidence that in Iran, American and Israeli flags are publicly burned amid chants of “Death to the Great Satan” and “Death to the Little Satan.” Intolerance becomes violence, violence becomes terrorism, and tolerance toward that intolerance becomes fertile ground for terror to spread.
As the German essayist Kurt Tucholsky wrote, a nation is defined not only by what it does, but also by what it tolerates. At its core, we are witnessing a profound clash between a culture that glorifies death and a culture that sanctifies life. They speak different moral languages. That is why dialogue with terrorists is impossible: one cannot reason with those who speak an entirely different moral language.
The Torah teaches: “I have set before you life and death... therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
For many years, I wondered why such a commandment was necessary. Would any person in their right mind truly choose death? Today, I believe I have found one possible answer: silence in the face of terror is choosing death.
Tolerance toward terrorist intolerance is choosing death. Every day, each of us must choose life: by raising our voices against terror, condemning terrorism and injustice, standing together to confront them, and doing everything within our power to defend life, liberty, peace, and stability. Only then can we secure a future for our children, as the verse concludes: “so that you and your descendants may live.”
This year marks the 32nd anniversary of that brutal and cowardly attack. In Hebrew, the number 32 corresponds to the numerical value of the word lev, meaning “heart.” May this open wound move our hearts. May we feel the pain of every victim and every grieving family as our own.
And may we do everything within our power to bring justice and truth into the world, so that we may help heal the heart of humanity and of our society.
The writer is a rabbi and the Argentinian ambassador to Israel.