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Islamist Terror Networks Remain the Top Security Threat to Latin America’s Jewish Communities
People hold up pictures of the victims of the AMIA Jewish center bombing during a ceremony to mark the 22nd anniversary of the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
On August 16, Argentina’s Federal Police thwarted an Islamist terror plot reportedly linked to ISIS and the Taliban to murder Jews in Mendoza — the second such plot uncovered in Argentina this year.
Last November, Brazilian security services unfoiled a similar attack against the country’s Jewish community, which was planned by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy, Hezbollah.
While these plots were exposed in time to prevent mass murder, they sadly demonstrate that the Jewish communities in Latin America remain the target of both Sunni and Shiite Islamist terrorist networks that, until recently, appear to have operated with impunity.
Last month, I joined representatives of Jewish organizations from around the world in Buenos Aires to honor the victims of the 1994 bombing, which targeted the headquarters of the AMIA Jewish community center established in 1894. The attack, which was masterminded by Iran and its terror proxies, killed 85 people and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust, until it was tragically overtaken by October 7.
The AMIA attack came two years after a similar attack, in which a Hezbollah suicide bomber drove a pickup truck into the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 23 and wounding 242. I have friends who survived this horrendous attack, and others that lost their loved ones.
Argentina’s Jewish community — the largest in Latin America — has yet to see justice served against the perpetrators of these crimes.
The developments over the last week have provided a grim reminder that Islamist terror networks, whether backed by the Iranian regime or other state and non-state actors, remain one of the top security threats to Latin American countries and especially to their respective Jewish communities.
The targeting of Argentina’s Jewish population, despite the country’s physical, political, and military remoteness from the Middle East, demonstrates once again that Islamists target Jews for being Jews, no matter where they are in the world, and no matter what is happening in the Middle East.
Indeed, in July 1994, the same month as the AMIA attack, Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), made a historic return to Gaza after the Palestinian Authority (PA) was granted limited self-rule in Gaza and Jericho — a key step in the unfolding Oslo Accords.
Then, as now, it seems that the prospect of peace inspires the cruelest outbursts of terrorist violence against Jews, no matter who or where we are. After all, as analysts have noted, Hamas reportedly planned and executed the October 7 attacks as a response to the success of the Abraham Accords, and out of the fear that Saudi Arabia might soon become a signatory and peace partner with Israel.
While the most recent plot in Mendoza appears to have come from a terror cell espousing ISIS and Taliban rhetoric, the main source of the threat against Latin American Jews remains the Islamic Republic of Iran and its terror proxy, Hezbollah.
What’s more, it seems that today’s threats stem from the activities of longstanding Hezbollah cells and networks that have since become more established and sophisticated.
For example, Colombian police arrested Mahdy Akil Helbawi earlier this month, in coordination with the FBI. Helbawi is also designated by the US Treasury Department as an operative and financier for Hezbollah. Most notably, however, he is the son of Amer Akil Rada — a Hezbollah operative involved in both the bombings of the AMIA and the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires.
Decades after the AMIA atrocity, money is still being funneled to Hezbollah from a range of activities, in Colombia and Venezuela, including drug trafficking.
Hezbollah has a long relationship with South American drug cartels, but they have also expanded into the use of cryptocurrency to more easily launder and transfer their funds. This in turn has helped Hezbollah to adapt and develop the ways in which they target Latin American Jewish communities.
For example, in Brazil, two Hezbollah operatives recruited from local Middle Eastern diaspora communities were able to hire six Brazilian nationals to conduct attacks on Jewish targets in Brasilia. The plot was foiled last November by Brazilian authorities, but demonstrated Hezbollah’s ability to rely on new methods and networks to terrorize Jews and non-Jews alike.
Terrorism is a threat not just to Jews, but to democratic societies all around the globe. It is for this reason that all world leaders who believe in peaceful coexistence must work together to eradicate extremism and fight terrorism.
These efforts should include taking harsher measures against countries that actively promote and support terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, and designations and sanctions targeting the entire network of individuals and entities that fund and facilitate terrorism.
In the ceremony of the 30th anniversary of the AMIA, Argentinian President Javier Millei said “Silence supports evil.” Our societies cannot afford another AMIA tragedy, nor another 9/11, nor another October 7, and therefore, silence is not an option.
Marina Rosenberg is Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, and a former ambassador and diplomat.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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