Israel and Argentina mark 25 years since the terror attack on Buenos Aires Embassy
22 Mar 2017
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“There are defining moments in the life of an individual, an organization, a nation, that draw a line between before and after. Such was the moment of the attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina.”
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Yuval Rotem at the Buenos Aires ceremony
The embassy was located at 910 Arroyo Street from 1950 and up to March 17th, 1992, when a pickup truck driven by a suicide bomber smashed into the front of the Israeli Embassy and blew up an explosive device. The Embassy's building was completely destroyed. 29 people were killed and 242 were injured, among the victims were 4 Israelis.
The Ceremony
The memorial ceremony in remembrance of the victims of the terror attack started exactly at 14:50, the time of the terror attack.
Yuval Rotem, the Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry attended thGovXContentSection
The 1992 terrorist attack against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was marked last Friday (17 March 2017) in a ceremony in Buenos Aires.
The terrorist attack
e ceremony and gave the following speech:
“Her Excellency Gabriela Michetti, Vice President of Argentina; the Honorable Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires; the Honorable Ilan Sztulman, Ambassador of Israel to Argentina; distinguished ambassadors, rabbis, members of Congress, government and municipal officials, representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps; esteemed friends and survivors of the attack; dear families; ladies and gentlemen, amigos todos.
On March 17, 1992, around noontime, I was at the Israeli Consulate in New York, involved in my duties as the consulate's spokesman.
Suddenly the telephone rang. On the other end was a personal friend, a young reporter from the ABC network:
‘Yuval, I don't know exactly what – but something has happened at your embassy in Argentina,’ he said. ‘Media reports there are conflicting, but I suggest you check it out.’
I immediately contacted the Foreign Ministry's Situation Room in Jerusalem. Yair Ben Shalom, the Duty Officer, was having a quiet shift and was as puzzled as I was, since he had not received any report about an unusual incident in Buenos Aires.
I decided to call the embassy in Argentina, but got no response, whereupon I phoned the ambassador's residence. His daughter answered and said, ‘Father ate lunch with us, and then they came and rushed him off.’ She couldn't say where.
My stomach turned over, and all kinds of scenarios raced through my mind. Thoughts repressed until then pushed their way to the fore; I knew that a catastrophe had occurred.
I got back to the Situation Room in Jerusalem and asked that all the staff be summoned urgently, because something bad had happened in Buenos Aires.
Although at that point in time I was still ignorant of what had happened, I sensed that we were confronted with a nightmare come true.
There are defining moments in the life of an individual, an organization, a nation, that draw a line between before and after. Such was the moment of the attack on the Israeli embassy in Argentina.
The Foreign Ministry and its staff experienced the most horrendous terrorist attack in its history. The State of Israel is well acquainted with tragedy and grief, but there are few moments when personal pain pierces the collective national heart with such intensity.
I am certain that, like me, you each recall the moment when news of the attack on the embassy reached Israel.
A bridge stretched thousands of kilometers between Jerusalem and Buenos Aires, a bridge which connected us in our shared destiny, anguish, empathy, solidarity and clarity.
The attack on the embassy took place 25 years ago, followed just two years later, in July 1994, by the attack on the Jewish community center.
The embassy building and the community center – two buildings and one target, Jews and Israelis as such – because we are all one.
As part of our mission to the countries of the world, we are also emissaries to the different Jewish communities, united in our hearts, united by remembrance, and sadly, united by shed blood.
Today we are remembering that terrible day, when a car bomb in one cruel instant cut short the lives of so many Israeli and Argentine individuals; emissaries of the State, family, local staff and innocent bystanders – all were targeted by murderous terror.
Beneath the collapsed ruins, behind the blood stains, there is a clear address that was obvious to us from the outset: Iran stands behind the heinous attack; Iran conceived and planned the attack and carried it out through its proxy – Hezbollah.
Two years later we were given further proof of Iranian aggression, which knows no bounds and this time was directed against the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, with even more horrendous results: 85 deaths, hundreds of injuries and widespread devastation.
Combating terrorism requires constant vigilance, preparedness and action, including on the diplomatic front. The State of Israel is waging a ceaseless war against terrorism through its security forces and in the political arena, using the array of tools at its disposal.
The terrorist elements that targeted our friends and colleagues in the embassy and our brethren in the Jewish community know that we will not rest nor slacken in our efforts. Sooner or later, the hand that is raised against us will pay the price.
Sadly, 25 years after the attack on the embassy and 23 years after the attack on the AMIA center, one cannot say that justice has been done.
Israel, and each of us, with our burden of pain and mourning, expects the appropriate processes to be completed in Argentina – not only for our own sake, but for the sake of Argentina and the entire world, so that the lesson should be learned: crimes of terror will not be tolerated, forgiven or forgotten and the war against terrorism will never abate.
The attacks in Argentina, the memories we carry our duty to life serve as a reminder, also to those who have chosen to forget, of the importance of international cooperation, the supreme obligation to collaborate in the war against terrorism, its perpetrators and their dispatchers. Terrorism is not anonymous or amorphous; it has guiding hands, planners, financiers and executors. All are partners in and responsible for the acts of terror – and all must be brought to justice and bear the consequences of their acts.
There are those who attempt to turn a blind eye, to ignore the evidence, to deny the reality and responsibility. The war on terror is not waged only through intelligence and prevention but also by creating infrastructures for international cooperation and collaborative efforts led by us.
As diplomats, we operate on a dual front: Against diplomatic challenges – we build bridges of hope and dreams; we specialize in political activities designed to promote the Israeli narrative. Against security challenges – we act as soldiers. Our uniform: suits and ties; our weapons: presentations, meetings, dialogue, the computer keyboard and hosting.
The Foreign Ministry's warriors are fighting for Israel's image and reputation, and for their and their families' right to lead normal lives. Our people are at the forefront of the political action, operating in challenging environments and locations, often knowing that they could be endangering themselves and their families.
When we joined the Foreign Service we knew that we were assuming a heavy responsibility. Israeli diplomats regard representing Israel abroad as a privilege, and they fulfill their mission with great pride and even with reverence.
Today, 25 years after the horrendous attack, I am standing here before you and asking myself whether I understand the ramifications.
How to comprehend that daddy will never return from work? That daddy was here – and is gone? What does it mean that "daddy was a person of great stature?"
How to explain to grandma that her beloved son will no longer taste the delicacies she would prepare especially for him?
And how to teach a young girl to remember the mother she never knew?
With us here today are the survivors of that terrible day and their dear families. 25 years have gone by. The wrinkles of time naturally are apparent, people have grown older, an entire generation has passed, but the memory of the good people who lost their lives in an instant will never perish.
For me, standing here before you today is a meaningful experience, a moving occasion of unity, at this point where one of the most magnificent missions of the Foreign Ministry stood.
I am not referring to the magnificence of the building – which certainly was an architectural gem – but to the special people who served here. People who came out of a sense of commitment, whether from a distance of a ride on the Underground or from a distance of thousands of kilometers.
Nor will we forget for a moment those citizens of Argentina whose fate became entwined with ours at that tragic juncture for all of us.
Ladies and gentlemen, a few days after the attack on the embassy building, which reduced it to a pile of rubble, a sympathetic hand planted a flag at the top of the pile – the flag of the ruins, or more accurately, the flag of victory over the ruins, the blue-and-white flag of Israel.
We are persevering on our path. Our global diplomatic representation is expanding and becoming more firmly entrenched; our relations with the countries of the world are deepening and growing closer, and terror incidents, as painful as they are, will not prevent us from forging ahead towards our goal of political activity to strengthen Israel's standing among the family of nations.
These challenging tasks will continue to be performed by extraordinary women and men, emissaries of the State of Israel filled with pride and motivation, lovers of peace and lovers of their country.
The Israeli diplomatic corps will continue to direct its gaze towards the future, full of hope and secure in the justice of our cause – with the names of those we have lost forever etched in our heart:
Eli Ben-Zeev –
survived by his wife Miri and their two children: Omer and Eylon
Eliora-Eli Carmon –
survived by her husband Danny and their five children: Ariel, Ofer, Ruth, Maya and Ayala
David Ben-Rafael –
survived by his wife Alisa and their two children: Yonatan and Noam
Zehava Zehavi –
survived by her husband Yitzhak and their three children: Avigdor, Yedidya and Or
May their memory be a blessing.”