Martin J. Raffel
New York — Almost ten years ago, my friend and Hebrew University Law School classmate David Ben Rafael died in a terrorist attack against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was serving as deputy chief of mission at the time.
Last week, Sept. 24, I found myself with JCPA chair Leonard Cole, our hearts heavy with the unspeakable horror of Sept. 11, traveling to Argentina. We were on our way to a Buenos Aires courtroom to witness the first session of a trial related to a subsequent terrorist atrocity in the same city that took 85 lives, the July 1994 suicide bombing of the AMIA Jewish community building.
The trial’s defendants — the so-called “local connection” — were 15 Buenos Aires policemen, including a former chief of police, and a number of civilians accused of aiding the perpetrators.
The investigating judge indicated that pre-trial evidence points to the Iran-backed Hezbollah as the party responsible for both the embassy and AMIA bombings. No one connected to the embassy bombing has yet been brought to trial.
During our very brief pre-Yom Kippur stay, we managed to convey a series of important messages to multiple audiences. First and foremost, we offered moral support and solidarity to the families of the victims.
Most difficult was the encounter, organized by the Jewish community’s umbrella public affairs organization (DAIA), with three parents who lost young daughters in the massacre. Seeing the defendants in the courtroom, hearing the description of the bombing — including details of how their relatives were killed — brought the terrible memories back to the surface.
More than seven years have gone by, and still the emotional wounds cut deeply. We could offer no magic healing words, just hugs and tears.
Memoria Activa, a group representing some of the victims’ families, has decided to pursue a different legal strategy from that of the DAIA and AMIA. It holds a vigil every Monday morning in a downtown plaza. We joined them and spoke with those family members as well.
Negligence, cover-up
In discussions with Argentinean government officials, including Justice Minister Jorge de la Rua (the president’s brother) and his senior advisor on terrorism, Melchor Cruchaga, we emphasized that the American Jewish community was closely watching the proceedings.
We told them that we viewed this trial as the beginning of justice in the AMIA and embassy explosions, not the end.
The de la Rua administration generally is viewed by the Argentinean Jewish community as more dedicated than the previous government of President Carlos Menem to the task of seeking justice. But everyone we met observed that much more can and should be done to pursue both investigations.
However, the negligence and cover-up by Argentinean officials during the years immediately following the attacks, particularly in the case of the Israeli embassy, will make acquisition of evidence all the more difficult.
Media coverage of the trial by Argentinean television, press and radio was intense. Journalists wanted to understand the impact of the events of Sept. 11 in the United States.
We explained that the U.S., Israel and Argentina were all victims of this modern barbarism, and they, along with the entire civilized world, now would be challenged to demonstrate tenacity and an unprecedented level of sustained international cooperation if we ever hope to defeat the terrorists.
Our meeting with Israel’s ambassador to Argentina sent a message that both Israel and American Jewry, the largest diaspora community, share a special responsibility for the well-being of Jews throughout the world.
The visit with the U.S. ambassador to Argentina offered us an opportunity to thank our own government for its assistance in the investigation and to urge that this effort continue and intensify, as part of the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism initiative.
Argentinean and U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials, including teams of FBI representatives who visited the country twice, have been cooperating at various levels.
Stealing some time from our packed agenda, and before getting on our flight back home, I walked to Arroyo Street, once the location of Israel’s embassy. Today it is a plaza dedicated to the bombing’s 29 victims.
Touching David’s name on the memorial plaque, I promised my friend that I would not forget him or the atrocity that took his life.
Martin Raffel is the associate executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the national public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community.
