Our aim at AMIA

It was moving to read Ilanit Chernik’s report on the 25th anniversary of the tragic Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina bombing (UN remembers anniversary of 1994 AMIA bombing,” June 26).

In this respect, we would like to point out a singular initiative of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, together with the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the late Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, which resulted in the erection of a Memorial Mural, dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attacks perpetrated against the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA community hub, as well as to those who were murdered in the Shoah. This monument was inaugurated in 1997, with the presence of former Polish president Lech Walesa and other world dignitaries and constitutes the only memorial emplaced in a Catholic Church, let alone a Cathedral, fully dedicated to Jewish martyrs.

In the wake of the heinous 1994 attack against AMIA, Quarracino visited the ruins and said: “How naïve are these criminals who thought they could defeat Judaism.”

In his last will, Quarracino asked to be buried “next to the Mural,” together with the ashes of his parents, signaling to his successors that this monument should never be removed or relocated. He went further, inviting “Jews who so wish to visit the Mural with their heads covered,” a unique gesture, bearing in mind that Church visitors are always requested to uncover their heads.

Since its inauguration, the mural was visited and praised by world personalities, including former US president Barack Obama.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (better known today as Pope Francis) became Archbishop of Buenos Aires following Quarracino’s passing, and in his capacity, he continued preserving and promoting this unique symbol of religious fraternity, which is not widely known, despite its remarkable singularity.

EDUARDO EURNEKIAN – CHAIRMAN

BARUCH TENEMBAUM – FOUNDER