On July 18, 1994, a car bomb blew up the Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, levelling the city’s main Jewish federation building. Now referred to as the AMIA bombing, the terrorist attack killed 85 Jewish people and injured 300 more. It was the worst terrorist attack in the history of Argentina and the worst attack against Jews outside Israel since the Holocaust.
What’s more troubling is that the perpetrators have never been confirmed. Investigators and the public blame operatives from Iran and Hezbollah, but no suspects have been brought to justice.
Combined with the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which happened two years prior, many Jewish families from Argentina took this as a cue to leave. Some moved to Canada, where they are still dealing with the trauma—and seeking justice.
Hernan Popper is one of those Argentinian Jews. He now lives in Winnipeg, but he lived through the AMIA bombing; on today’s show, he joins to describe what it was like hearing the explosion and how he remembers those who died that day.
What we talked about:
- Learn about B’nai Brith Canada’s event, “Remembering AMIA,” at bnaibrith.ca
- Visit Hernan Popper’s cybersecurity company, POPP3R
- Watch Nisman, the docuseries about Alberto Nisman, the investigator of the AMIA attack, on Netflix
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.
