Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), an influential member of the conservative wing of the House Republican Conference, said in an interview with Jewish Insider last week that Israel stands in a unique place among U.S. allies and that the U.S. should always be ready to assist Jerusalem when it needs help.

Asked after a recent trip to Israel about potential additional avenues for Congress to support Israel, including future aid packages, Jordan described Israel as “in a category all by themselves.”

“When they need help, we should be helping Israel because there’s this special bond that exists between the Jewish people and Americans, and Israel and the United States. It’s just a special relationship. And a lot of it is because of the Judeo-Christian connection and heritage that we have,” he continued.

The Ohio Republican, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, helped found the right-wing Freedom Caucus in 2015, and went on to gain influence and support across the GOP conference. 

Johnson was nominated three times for House speaker during the protracted Oct. 2023 speakership fight, but Republicans later withdrew the nomination amid continued opposition from some Republican moderates and pragmatists. Jordan, an ally of President Donald Trump, is seen as still having House leadership ambitions.

While he’s a skeptic of aid to Ukraine, Jordan has voted consistently in favor of U.S. aid to Israel, even as a group of Freedom Caucus members, including the group’s then-chairman, opposed U.S. aid to Israel last year unless paired with other funding cuts. Jordan also voted in favor of U.S. aid to Taiwan.

Jordan led a delegation of House Republicans to Israel last month, his first visit to the Jewish state since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Jordan said that the “resiliency of the Jewish people and the miracle that is the nation of Israel” was all the more evident during this visit, particularly when the group visited the sites of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacres.

“The other big takeaway for me was just how different the Middle East is now” due to Israel’s operations against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran and the fall of Assad in Syria, Jordan added. “It was just a terrible tragedy what happened on the 7th of October a year and a half ago, but since then, there’s been a change, and I feel like Israel’s in a stronger position now.”

Jordan said that it’s “obvious” that a two-state solution should be a thing of the past.

“That’s just not going to fly,” Jordan said. In order to have a two-state solution, “you’ve got to have each state want to work with the other … The Palestinians’ stated goal is to destroy the country of Israel. You just can’t do that.”

Regarding the future of Gaza, Jordan said that the U.S. should let Israel take the lead in plotting the path forward.

“All I know is that you cannot allow this terrorist organization to run that area and the president’s been clear he doesn’t want that either,” Jordan said. “I think we should be supportive of Israel.”

Asked about how the U.S. should approach Iran and its growing nuclear program, including Trump’s discussions of a nuclear deal and a potential Israeli strike, Jordan said Israel has “made clear Hamas is not going to be back in power in Gaza” and that it “is not going to let Iran get nuclear capability.” 

“In my mind, that’s just a matter of fact, and that’s exactly the right position,” Jordan said. He spoke to JI prior to Trump’s revelation last week that he had sent a letter to Iranian leaders proposing talks over the regime’s nuclear program.

Jordan said that Oct. 7 and its aftermath were pervasive themes in every conversation he had in Israel, particularly with the anticipated release of the bodies of the Bibas family during the visit. He also said that visiting holy sites in Jerusalem was “truly amazing.”

Speaking to JI before the recent outbreak of sectarian violence in southern Syria that has left hundreds of civilians dead, Jordan said that a “wait-and-see” approach is necessary regarding the new Syrian government. He said it is a positive development that the supply line from Iran to Lebanon through Syria has been cut off, but said new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s terrorist background is concerning. 

He said that Turkey’s intentions and influence in the new Syrian regime are another “wrinkle.”

Jordan said that there’s also “real optimism” in the region that the Trump administration can build on the Abraham Accords and potentially bring in Saudi Arabia, adding that potential concessions from the U.S. as part of such a deal are up to Trump. Jordan argued that the Trump administration’s decision to override longstanding conventional wisdom to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem had created the “foundation” for the Abraham Accords.

“Suddenly people said, ‘Wow this is different,’” Jordan said. “And the president jumped out of this framework of ‘you have to work on the two-state Palestinian-Israel issue.’”