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JCPA URGES OPEN TRIAL OF TERROR SUSPECTS

In Meetings with Top Officials, Group Spotlights Argentine Investigations

February 29, 2000 – Baltimore, MD – In a meeting with Argentine Ambassador Guillermo Enrique Gonzalez today, members of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) urged the Argentine government to move expeditiously to conclude the investigations into the AMIA and Israeli Embassy bombings, and bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. The delegation presented the Ambassador with a resolution to this effect that was passed unanimously by the plenary session of the JCPA on Monday.

Michael Bohnen, Co-Chair of JCPA’s Israel and Other International Concerns Task Force, welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Ambassador following the recent election of a new government in Argentina. "We expressed our hope that the investigation and coming trial would be thorough and transparent. We were very pleased that Ambassador Gonzalez was so receptive to our concerns."

The JCPA delegation also met with Roberta S. Jacobson, Director of Policy Planning at the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs at the State Department, who noted that although the trial set for this summer will for the first time try local police officers involved in the AMIA bombing, this case is in no way solved. She assured the delegates that this issue is a priority for Secretary of State Albright and for President Clinton, and would remain so until a satisfactory conclusion is reached.

The delegation concluded the series of meetings on Capitol Hill with David S. Abramowitz, the Democratic Chief Counsel at the House Committee on International Relations. Mr. Abramowitz was encouraged by President de la Rua’s stated commitment to pursuing those responsible for the bombings, and noted that the Congress is closely following this case to ensure that the "Argentine government does the right thing."

Martin J. Raffel, Associate Executive Vice Chairman at the JCPA said that, "This issue will not go away. The Jewish community is very concerned about the way the investigations have been handled, and although nearly 8 years have passed since the first bombing, we continue to monitor events in Argentina."

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The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community and serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 13 national and 122 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations.