At the end of the 19th century, the international Jewish community began to promote a new political movement in order for the people of Israel to return definitively to their original territory . This movement is known as Zionism. In that context, an association was founded in Argentina, the AMIA, whose initials correspond to Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina.
Those who promoted the birth of AMIA were part of the Jews of Ashkenazi origin, a branch of Judaism with its own traditions and a language, Yiddish.
One of the first actions carried out was the creation of a cemetery for the deceased Jews to be buried according to the religious precepts established in the tradition of the Torah. In fact, the first name of the entity was "Jevrá Kedusha", which in Hebrew means honorable burial or burial.
At the same time, the members of this association promoted all kinds of cultural and educational activities in order to consolidate their values in Argentine society. Likewise, AMIA members promoted social programs to assist the most disadvantaged Jewish community, especially immigrants from Eastern Europe.
The most tragic episode in its history
In the summer of 1994, the centenary of its foundation was commemorated and on July 18, the AMIA headquarters suffered a terrorist attack in which 85 people died and hundreds were injured. For years the judicial investigation into what happened was paralyzed, but in 2001 the case was reopened and finally the Argentine courts blamed the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah as the head of the attack and the government.Iranian was considered as the promoter of the terrorist action. However, since then there has been no final sentence and the attack on the AMIA headquarters has been involved in all kinds of controversies, debates and mysteries (the death in 2015 of the prosecutor who was going to present new evidence, problems with the extradition of some of the accused, the accusation of impartiality to the first judge who took the case and a long list of anomalous situations).
The 1994 attack is a clear episode of anti-Semitism
The AMIA attack must be understood in the context of the anti-Semitic tradition in Argentina. In 2014 DAIA (Delegation of Argentine Israeli Associations) presented a report on anti-Semitism in Argentina. In it, the historical roots of hatred against Jews are exposed, as well as new forms of expression against the Jewish community.