|
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Argentine Cabinet Member Calls Unsolved bombings
an Open Wound March 31, 2000 – New York -- Speaking to Jewish community leaders in New York, Argentine Tourism Secretary Hernan Lombardi called the unsolved 1992 Israeli embassy and 1994 AMIA building bombings an open wound for Argentine society. In a meeting with Jewish Council for Public Affairs representatives on Tuesday, Lombardi said that the upcoming trial of Buenos Aires police officers implicated in the AMIA bombing is "not only about the Jewish people. This speaks to all of us, as citizens of Argentina and the world." Lombardi added that, "The state will no longer protect those who commit terrorist acts." JCPA Argentina Committee chair, Joan Bronk, welcomed President de la Rua’s pledge to bring the perpetrators of the AMIA building and Israeli embassy bombings to justice. "We are deeply concerned about seeing justice done in these two cases," she said, "and appreciate the profound commitment that President de la Rua and his government have taken to seeing this through." Bronk presented Secretary Lombardi with a resolution, passed at the JCPA plenum in February, on Jewish security in Argentina. The resolution, which was passed unanimously, calls on the Argentine government to "conduct these investigations vigorously, and finally bring the perpetrators to justice." Mr. Lombardi was in New York for a reception at the Argentine consulate celebrating the publication of "Shalom Buenos Aires – A Jewish Legacy" a guidebook to 100 years of Jewish life in Buenos Aires. Referring to the guide, Lombardi noted that the "rich cultural and religious diversity found in Buenos Aires stands as an example of brotherhood and co-existence to the peoples of the world." # # # 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. |
