Argentinean Jews as Scapegoat: A Textual Analysis of the Bombing of AMIA

Abstract

On 18 July 1994, the Asociación de Mutuales Israelitas Argentinas (Israelite Argentinean Mutual Aid Association) (AMIA) was bombed. AMIA’s seven-story building was destroyed, and eighty-five lives were lost. Drawing on the literature of news as myth and using textual analysis, this study focuses on news media coverage of AMIA’s attack to analyze the representation of “the Jews” in two major Argentinean newspapers: La Nación and Clarín. These dailies distanced Jews and non-Jews, presenting Argentinean Jews in the role of scapegoat, and contributing to the general perception of the AMIA attack as a Jewish problem and a Jewish burden. This perception further separates Argentinean Jews from non-Jews. In addition, it diminishes the probabilities of solving the judicial case since the terrorist attack is not acknowledged as an Argentinean problem.