[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 136 (Thursday, October 11, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1849]]



INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK FUNDING FOR JOB PROGRAM OF AMIA JEWISH 
                         COMMUNITY IN ARGENTINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 11, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today at noon, the President of the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB), Mr. Enrique V. Iglesias, and Dr. Hugo 
Ostrower, President of the Argentine Mutual Aid Association (AMIA), 
signed an agreement here in Washington under terms of which $3.5 
million will be provided by the IDB to AMIA to assist Jewish 
organizations in Argentina to provide employment assistance.
  The serious economic problems that have struck Argentina have had a 
particularly heavy impact upon the middle class, creating unemployment 
and impoverishment. The significant Jewish community in Buenos Aires 
and other Argentine cities has been particularly affected by the 
economic problems, and recent reports indicate that as a result of the 
economic crisis fully a quarter of the Jewish community in the country 
are impoverished. Hundreds of young Jewish couples are seeking 
employment assistance, and community dining rooms feed numerous Jews in 
need of basic nourishment. Many Jewish families face serious housing 
problems, and many live in shanty towns and even on the street. These 
deteriorating conditions have occurred rapidly in just the past few 
years.
  Mr. Speaker, AMIA is an organization with a history of service for 
the past 107 years, and it is the core Jewish service organization in 
Argentina. This organization has been playing a critical role in 
helping the Jewish community deal with the severe economic 
difficulties. AMIA established an Occupational Center for Labor 
Development, which has helped some five thousand people find jobs over 
the past five years. According to IDB reports, the Center ``has become 
the largest employment source based on the number of firms served and 
by its effectiveness in securing jobs.''
  The new agreement establishing the IDB-AMIA cooperative project with 
funding of $3.5 million will strengthen the capabilities of AMIA's 
Employment Center, by expanding its services and will permit the 
opening of similar centers in various locations throughout greater 
Buenos Aires, as well as in the Argentine cities of Cordoba, Rosario, 
Tuchuman, and La Plata.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the Inter-American Development Bank for 
providing this generous and significant support to AMIA. I also want to 
recognize Dr. Hugo Ostrower, the President of AMIA, for his record of 
leadership and service to the Jewish Community of Argentina and the 
creative approach to assisting members of that community to find 
employment. These efforts are obviously beneficial not only to the 
Jewish Community, but also for all Argentines. It will be an important 
contribution to the economic recovery of the country.
  Mr. Speaker, for most Americans, AMIA became a household word after 
the July 18, 1994, bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in 
Buenos Aires, Argentina. In that vicious terrorist attack, some 86 
people were killed, hundreds more were injured, and property damage was 
enormous. That vicious terrorist action was only one of the many such 
attacks that terrorists have inflicted upon innocent civilians 
virtually around the world over the past decade. Because of that horror 
brought upon AMIA seven years ago, it is most appropriate that ADB is 
providing this assistance to AMIA at this time when we are moving 
decisively in concert with our allies and all civilized nations against 
those who perpetrate such atrocities.

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