31 years after the Israeli embassy bombing: a bond based on life that outweighs horror

On March 17, 1992, at 2:47 p.m., the hearts of Argentines stopped. He attack on the headquarters of the Israeli embassy in Argentina, it was a criminal act that he did not achieve his goal: terrify us and weaken the close ties that unite us to the people and the state of israel. Argentine society has united to reject this aberration. The attack that shook the city of Buenos Aires and all Argentines was a flagrant violation of our sovereignty, perpetrated by external agents linked to the iranian regime and its executing arm, the terrorism of Hezbollah.

However, in these lines I do not want to dwell on death and destruction, because that is what the intellectual and material authors of such a brutal attack were looking for. Rather, I want to talk here about peace, life, creativity, and how the State of Israel and its people, who have gone through centuries of persecution and discrimination, are today an example of continuous improvement.

Last year he visited our country Dani Dayanthe director of Yad Vashem, the institution responsible for collecting the memory of the Holocaust and educating new generations around the world on the need to fight anti-Semitism and hate anyone for the mere fact of their beliefs and ideas. During his contacts with the press and the local community, he recalls a maxim of Judaism: “Saving one life is equivalent to saving all of humanity”.

You may be interested: “Footprints of Terrorism”: the campaign of the Israeli embassy 30 years after the attack on its headquarters in Buenos Aires

Over the past four decades, the vocation of peace and overcoming disagreements with its Arab neighbors in the Middle East has been a constant in Israeli foreign policy. The most recent proof of this vocation to dialogue and coexistence are the so-called “Abraham Accords”launched in 2020 and of those who participate, to date, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. The recognition of the existence of the State of Israel, which only the Iranian regime today refuses to accept, is a very important step in healing the wounds and facing a future of dialogue and mutual respect.

I am interested here in emphasizing the value of the life and creativity of the Israeli people, a veritable oasis of progress in a hostile geography and in an area of ​​the planet shaken by wars and internal crises.

In his book You will innovate, the Israeli entrepreneur and essayist Avi Jorish reports on some of his country’s countless contributions to humanity. “Israeli innovations help improve the lives of millions of people on the planet,” says Jorisch, recalling another Jewish maxim: tikkun olam, “fix the world”. As the former President of the State of Israel, who we remember, said, Shimon Peres, in his last address to young people: “Remember to be bold and curious; Dream big.”

This “dreaming big” has made the Israeli people the protagonists of great advances in terms of health and technology applied to well-being and improving the quality of life. It is no coincidence that the sector of innovation applied to medicine, known as MedTech, find Israel as a hub with global projection.

You may be interested: For the first time, the image and file of the suicide driver who blew up the Israeli embassy on the orders of Iran and Hezbollah

We have a lot to learn from this culture. Overcoming a painful past and investing in the future, without forgetting the contribution of previous generations to building the current growth model, continues to inspire us. Today Argentina and Israel work together in multiple collaborative and complementary projects which – 31 years after the attack – constitute a hymn to life, which is the best response to the horror experienced.

The little more than three decades that have passed since that sad March 17, 1992 have not shaken the bond of brotherhood that unites us. Argentina and Israel are able to transmit to humanity a message of peace, respect and tolerance. It is precisely this model that the terrorists wanted to destroy. They did not succeed: today our bond with Israel is stronger than ever and the possibilities of cooperation between our two peoples point to a better future for all.

As the Holy Father said, the dad francisco, in his speech at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, during his historic visit to Israel: “Never forgetting the past, let us promote an education in which exclusion and confrontation give way to inclusion and to the meeting. Here we will find the key to growth.

To all those who have lost their lives, to their families, to their friends: Present!

Continue reading: