Argentine Jews were expressing despair on the 25th anniversary of a terrorist attack on a Jewish community office building in Argentina's capital, despite the government's announcement of new efforts to make amends.
"After 25 years, like all the decisions, they did it because of the anniversary. … I know they have good intentions, but 25 years is a lot of time. A lot of people work hard to hide evidence, to erase the evidence, and now I hope they can do something. But I am skeptical," survivor of the 1994 bombing Javier Miropolsky tells i24NEWS.
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Miropolsky was buried under debris of the building where he used to work helping the elderly and disabled for five hours before he was rescued.
"I personally feel betrayed, by all the governments, because it was the country where I was born and someone tried to kill me there," he said explaining that he first considered himself Argentine first and then a Jew.
The attack changed his perspective, especially when the Israel ambassador came to visit him in the hospital, not a representative of the Argentine government.
"That meant a lot to me. So, I decided to come here [to Israel] – it was a wise decision," he said.
"It's very difficult to be a Jew there [in Argentina] right now."
But Adriana Camisar, Special Advisor on Latin American Affairs for B'nai B'rith International underscored the importance of the Argentine government's decision on Thursday to brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
"This is an extremely important decision by the Argentine government because for the first time in 25 years Hezbollah is finally considered a terrorist organization," she stressed.
"And it will be more difficult for agents of Hezbollah to get funds in the tri-border area between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay – which has been for a long time a lawless area, and it is considered the main source of Hezbollah financing outside of the Middle East."
Camisar said the 250,000-strong Jewish community in Argentina was "vibrant – they love their country, but of course, they just want justice."
Argentine Justice Minister Germán Garavano also told i24NEWS that freezing Hezbollah's assets and adding the group's military wing to Argentina's terror list would help "create deterrence."
He related two other decrees put forth by the Argentinian government to declare a national day of mourning and a series of other actions to preserve the memory of the victims of the attack, as well as extend the period for victims to claim reparations.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
