El Paso Jews criticize Rep. Beto O’Rouke for not attending Netanyahu speech

In a speech that stirred political intrigue in two countries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Congress on Tuesday that negotiations underway between Iran and the United States would “all but guarantee” that Tehran will get nuclear weapons, a step that the world must avoid at all costs.

“Iran has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted,” no matter what it says about permitting verification of the terms of any accord designed to prevent it from getting such weapons, he said.

But missing from the House Chamber was the Borderland’s Rep. Beto O’Rourke. He was one of about 50 who boycotted the speech.

“The invitation and the speech set a dangerous precedent whereby congressional leaders from one party can invite a foreign politician to publicly oppose the policies of the sitting president on the house floor,” said Rep. David Price.

“There was a time when we stayed silent, when we were in the midst of adversity, when we had a rampant tyrant in the world,” said El Paso Jewish businessman Tanny Berg. “And the result of that was World War II.”

Both Berg and B’Nai Zion Rabbi Stephen Leon were moved by the speech.

“It’s not only a bad deal for Israel it’s a bad deal for the United States, it’s a bad deal for the world,” Leon said.

Both were rattled by O’Rourke’s absence.

“I think he had an obligation to his constituency which is way beyond his own personal opinion to attend,” Berg said. “I think that not listening, especially when you’re at that level, it think it’s almost a disservice to the people you represent.”

O’Rourke warned last week he wouldn’t be attending the speech, writing on his Facebook page he believed it was a political stunt.

“The planned speech is disrespectful not just to President Obama, but to the institution of the Presidency, to this country and to the U.S. – Israel relationship,” O’Rourke wrote.

“The prime minister in the beginning of the speech, expressed his regard and admiration for the president of the United States,” Leon said. “It would be interesting to see O’Rourke do the same for Netanyahu.”

This is the second time O’Rourke has come under fire in the Jewish community. The first was last summer, when he voted against funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. It was a bill that would provide a quarter of a billion dollars for Israel.

But that doesn’t mean O’Rourke doesn’t value Israel. He said instead of attending the speech Tuesday, he met with El Pasoans from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, to discuss negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran.