When I arrived in Buenos Aires earlier this month to observe the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building, it was a ritual that had become all too familiar.
While Israel is actively engaged in holding the October 7 perpetrators accountable, Argentina’s Jewish community and all of society are waiting for answers.
During his visit to Santiago, Chile earlier this month, AJC CEO David Harris met with the editors of La Palabra Israelita, the country’s national Jewish newspaper. The interview was published as Chileans went to the polls, electing Gabriel Boric as the next president. The issues David discussed included antisemitism in Chile and the region, the sizable Palestinian community in Chile, and challenges to relations between Chile and Israel and to U.S.-Chile ties.
After a bipartisan, coast-to-coast outcry, President Trump signed an executive order maintaining the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy toward asylum-seekers and immigrants but – in a welcome move – terminating the practice of separating children from their families. While seemingly a win for a bipartisan approach to the issue, such a view is in truth a sadly superficial reading of the situation.
At a time when the world is polarized, and our region faces challenges of all kinds, multilateral efforts to achieve common objectives, such as the Summit of the Americas now underway in Lima, Peru, should be welcomed – and called on to deliver results.
