[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 20 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 20


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 1997

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the status of the 
investigation of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 
                                 1992.

Whereas on March 17, 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 
        school, and several nearby buildings were destroyed by a powerful 
        suicide car bomb blast in which 29 innocent children, women, and men 
        lost their lives and an additional 252 innocent people were injured;
Whereas the victims of this terrorist attack included employees of the Israeli 
        embassy and their families, children from a nearby Roman Catholic 
        primary school, women and men from a nearby Roman Catholic church 
        shelter, a Roman Catholic priest, and people from across the spectrum of 
        Argentine society;
Whereas Argentina's Jewish community, which numbers 300,000 and is the largest 
        Jewish community in Latin America, has suffered severe anti-Semitism 
        during periods of military rule and feels particularly vulnerable to 
        assault from certain radical Islamic groups and from indigenous far 
        right extremists in Argentina;
Whereas Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Israeli 
        Embassy and praised the name of the alleged suicide bomber, Abu Yasser, 
        by calling him a ``martyr struggler'';
Whereas Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization that is supported by Iran and, 
        according to Department of State officials, Iranian diplomats collected 
        information to plan the bombing;
Whereas the failure of Argentine and international efforts to bring the 
        perpetrators of the embassy bombing to justice made Argentina a prime 
        target for a second devastating terrorist attack on July 18, 1994;
Whereas the second bombing destroyed the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina 
        (AMIA) Jewish Community Center, killing 86 people and injuring over 200 
        people; and
Whereas the investigation of the Israeli Embassy bombing has been hampered by 
        the inefficiency of having the entire membership of the Supreme Court of 
        Argentina in charge of the investigation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) notes that as of March 17, 1997, 5 years after the 
        bombing of the Israeli Embassy and 2\1/2\ years after the 
        bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center, Argentinean police 
        and judicial authorities have not identified and initiated 
        prosecution of the perpetrators of these 2 barbarous acts of 
        terrorism;
            (2) urges the Supreme Court of Argentina to designate a 
        single investigative judge to conduct the investigation of the 
        terrorist bombing of the Israeli Embassy in order to improve 
        the efficiency of the inquiry;
            (3) urges Argentinean judicial authorities to aggressively 
        investigate the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center and 
        the possible connection between that bombing and the bombing of 
        the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires;
            (4) urges Argentinean authorities to acknowledge publicly 
        the reports submitted by Argentinean, United States, and 
        Israeli experts, that the explosion at the Israeli Embassy took 
        place outside the walls of the embassy;
            (5) urges the President and appropriate executive agencies 
        to provide whatever assistance is requested by Argentinean 
        Government authorities in order to help that Government 
        investigate these 2 acts of terrorism; and
            (6) directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit a copy 
        of this resolution to the Government of Argentina.

            Passed the Senate April 10, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.