The victims of the Holocaust and of the attacks against Israeli Embassy (17/3/92) and the AMIA (Jewish Community Center) (18/7/94) were remembered
On April 14, 1997, a large (1.80 per 1.20 metre) glass showcase containing 13 religious texts in Hebrew rescued from the European Jewish communities and from the ruins of the bombed Israeli embassy and the AMIA (Jewish Community) in Buenos Aires was installed in the Saint Theresa’s chapel, inside the Metropolitan Cathedral, the main Catholic church in Argentina.
The showcase contains religious texts in Hebrew rescued from concentration camps, among them it is worth mentioning a Meguilat Esther, a musical pentagram for Kaddish and a Sidur -Majzor- Talmud pages from unearthed the ruins of a Vilna synagogue, a book of Slichot rescued from the debris of the Warsaw guetto synagogue and a Hagada Shel Pessach (Passover) which was rescued from a concentration camp in Toulouse (France) in 1942.
Completes this mural a Hagada Le Pessach (prayers for Passover book) which was rescued from a concentration camp in Toulouse (France) in 1942. It belonged to a Jew exterminated in Maidanek, and was donated by Casa Argentina.
Below the showcase there are two plaques. One says:
”In memory of our Jewish brothers massacred and immolated during the Holocaust (Shoah), and of the martyres of the attacks against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Jewish Community Center (AMIA). Homage of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, given on April 14 1997 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.”
The other plaque contains an inscription written by Zvi Kolitz in his piece ”Yosl Rácover speaks to God”. It says:
”I believe in the sun, even if it doesn´t shine, in love even when I dont´t feel it, and in God, even if he remains silent.”
The Mural was designed by architect Norberto Silva and built by Carlos Daniel Pallarols, fourth generation of craftsmen that made art-works for the Cathedral. The frame was made with 18th Century techniques regarding foundry, chiseling and polishing with agate stone. The corners of the frame show symbols of the Menorah, The Tree of Life, The Start of David and The Tables of the Law.
The ceremony was organized by private, non-profit organization, Casa Argentina in Jerusalem and was attended by prominent Argentine Government officials, leaders of the Jewish Community and representatives of various other Christian faiths. Casa Argentina has since its founding in 1966, been working towards inter confessional dialogue in Buenos Aires, as well as in our Jerusalem headquarters, where we are the only private cultural representative of Latin America in Israel.
The founder of Casa Argentina, Baruch Tenembaum, Oscar Vicente, and visiting Polish leader Lech Walesa unveiled the Mural.
