"It's a little frustration that Macri did not travel to Israel"

"As long as the Islamic extremist regime remains in power in Iran, it will be very difficult for us to investigate what happened during the attack on our headquarters in Buenos Aires," he said. Ambbadador of Israel in Argentina, Ilan Sztulman, a few hours later. anniversary of the new attack that left 22 dead and 242 wounded on March 17, 1992.

-Why is there so little progress in the investigation?

-I can not explain why. I am not part of the investigation in the Argentine judicial system. We trust the justice and commitment of the Argentine security forces, because we have extremely close relations, with a lot of cooperation, but it is very difficult to investigate all this. Both attacks were perpetrated by Iran, which sent Hezbollah, its armed wing, to carry them out. It is very difficult to move forward when you have these types protected in a country. No one will go to war or invade Iran to capture them, what we can do, is to keep the red flag of Interpol. This is very frustrating, that is why it is important to organize events that keep the memory, because there is no solution, not a culprit and it is not necessary. There is no historical end for the families of the victims. It's something that continues to be very painful.

– What will be the act of this year?

-We will return to the place where the embbady was and make small meetings in the houses of politicians, artists, known personalities of the society, where the survivors will personally tell what has happened. The attack is a trauma for Argentina and also for Israel, because it was the most important that we had in one of our diplomatic offices. It was a shock, something that moved us, added to the fact that the investigation is not over yet. We all know who did it, but nothing happened to these people. Families feel the need and claim justice, as in the case of the AMIA attack.

– In the middle of the year, you will leave your post, which accounts have you left in abeyance?

-I feel a little frustrated by the impunity of Iran, a regime that has been horrifying here and still has an embbady in Buenos Aires, with a charge d'affaires, de facto ambbadador since coming to the Chancellery, between all the events and we know that you have links with the security force of your country. It bothers me deeply because I do not know if he is involved in terror, but it represents a regime that does it every day, giving total impunity to the types who committed these attacks. In addition, he has the audacity to speak to the Jewish community sometimes, saying that it is not the same regime, that people have changed. His embbady is near my home in Palermo, and every day I go out with my dog ​​and go through there. It bothers me to know the pain that they created here, the dead, and all the violence that, in a way, continues and encourages. It's something that, in my opinion, will not be solved.

Macri's visit to Israel is a pending account?

-It's a bit of frustration. I would have liked to go to Jerusalem as I did with Vice President Gabriela Michetti, which was a very moving and positive journey, with many results, in which we signed agreements. We scheduled dates and, at the last moment, we had a crisis and another and it could not be specified. I do not doubt the intensity of his feelings with our country. This is seen in the way they have received me and in the behavior of the Argentine government.

-What has changed?

– There is a lot of cooperation and for us it's a change. My predecessor, Dorit Shavit, practically only spoke to a minister, Hector Timerman, because he had to do it because he was chancellor. I have contacts with all officials, I communicate with them freely and all doors are open to cooperate, within the limits of the economic crisis. Politically, we have a very great affinity. The atmosphere is different today, not only within the ruling party, but also within the opposition, except with the former president. With Peronism, we have very good relationships. We travel to Israel and are willing to talk. It's a historic change for us.

– How does the local crisis affect the relationship?

-The country is going through a very difficult economic crisis and saber in international projects. This lack of money limits us a lot and is frustrating because the Israeli government and people have a great affinity with Argentina. It concerns us because we want to do a lot of things but it costs money, such as international cooperation programs in innovation management. We are a very big center of innovation and it becomes very limited if we only close in our country. Therefore, we help entrepreneurs who want to develop new products and, if they have to do it with another country, we finance 50%. The rest must be put by the counterpart. Here we can not do it because they are very bad. In the future, when they come out of this crisis, we will do a lot more together.

*Interview given to the Voices and Memory program, broadcast on Tuesday at 8:00 pm on Radio Eco Medios, AM 1220.

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