The entire San Diego delegation attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s controversial speech to a joint session of Congress, even though many Democrats boycotted the event.
In the 39-minute speech, Netanyahu warned Congress not to accept a deal being negotiated by Secretary of State John Kerry to lift economic sanctions against Iran in return for that country stopping development of nuclear weapons.
“Iran’s regime poses a grave threat not only to Israel, but to the peace of the entire world,” Netanyahu said, saying no deal would be better than the one under consideration.
Democrats Susan Davis, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas joined Republicans Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa on the Capitol floor. President Obama and as many as 59 Democratic lawmakers boycotted the speech.
In an op-ed published Tuesday in the U-T San Diego, Issa called the negotiations “ill conceived” and criticized Obama for failing to support an important ally.
“The story is not that Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to the United States at the behest of congressional leaders,” Issa wrote. “The story is that one of America’s closest allies in the world feels so alienated by President Obama that he believes his best hope in protecting his nation from a nuclear Iran lies in making his case directly to the American people, having lost confidence in a U.S. President who has rejected his counsel and sought to demonize and marginalize him.”
Netanyahu’s speech was criticized by some as political in nature because the invitation was not made through the White House and the prime minister faces a general election in two weeks.
