Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Presents First Annual Award on December 21

Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), the Jewish community organization in Argentina, will be presenting its first annual award for meritorious service to the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), an international organization in which Jews from Israel and the Diaspora work together to: rescue Jews in distress; promote immigration of Jews and their absorption in Israel; support Jewish education; and foster relationships between Jews around the world and their links to Israel.

The award will be presented by Abraham Kaul, president of AMIA, in the presence of Argentina's community leaders, activists, scholars and celebrities.

DATE/TIME: December 21, 2004; 19:00 hrs.
PLACE: AMIA Auditorium, 633 Pasteur, Buenos Aires.

Argentina is the second largest nation in Latin America and boasts the largest Jewish community in the region. From an open door policy of immigration to the harboring of Nazi war criminals, Argentina's Jews have faced periods of peaceful coexistence and periods of intense anti-Semitism.

On July 18, 1994, the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed; 87 people were killed, and more than 100 injured. It has never been determined which individuals were culpable for the attack.

JAFI and the Jewish community worldwide have contributed tens of millions of dollars to AMIA to rebuild the community center and construct housing for Jewish educators and students. Between 2002-04, JAFI has helped more than 8,300 Argentinean Jews immigrate to Israel.

For further information contact:
Michael Jankelowitz
Liaison to Foreign Press
The Jewish Agency for Israel
Cell: 050-7601706
Voicemail: 02-6202780
e-mail: michaelj@jafi.org