John Sullivan, who recently joined the increasingly crowded Democratic primary race to face Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) next November, brings unique pro-Israel bona fides to the race, even among a field of candidates vowing support for the Jewish state: From 2017-2020, Sullivan was the top FBI intelligence official living and working in Israel, liaising with the Israeli government on counterterrorism operations.

Those three years, Sullivan told Jewish Insider in an interview in May, gave him on-the-ground experience combating Hamas and Hezbollah and protecting both Israeli and American citizens. He said he’s seen and experienced firsthand the threats posed by both terror groups.

“Working really closely with the Israelis to do everything possible to keep Israel safe was a key part of my life and my work for three years while I was overseas,” Sullivan said. “Israel has a very special place in my family’s heart.”

He described his time in Israel, where said he worked closely with Israeli authorities and saw firsthand how his work could stop attacks and keep people safe, as some of “the best experience that I had in my career.”

“It’s the kind of work where you can see that you’re doing something good to help another country. Israel in particular has so many enemies in the Middle East … and so to be there and to be fighting for them and doing whatever I could to keep them safe was really something that I take with me, and was really inspiring,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he also appreciated getting to live in and be part of the Israeli culture and community. He and his husband adopted their son while living in Israel, and Sullivan said that raising a young child in the country showed the “compassion and the community” that the country has fostered.

“You get to know the community, get to know the people, and get to understand sort of just how important Israel is, not only for the United States, for our security, but also for the world, because having a strong democracy, who can be a great ally of the United States and who we support, as we should — It’s just so important to have that kind of land there, and that country there, who share our ideals and the democracy in the Middle East,” Sullivan said.

He said that for the first 18 months after he adopted him, Sullivan’s son experienced Israeli traditions and heard both English and Hebrew. Sullivan has remained in touch with the Israeli nanny who worked for the family — ultimately giving him a direct connection to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The nanny, Sullivan explained, attended the Nova music festival.

“We have to also allow Israel to defend itself and make sure that there’s no outside threat coming from terrorist organizations, including Hamas and their operatives,” Sullivan said. 

“She was WhatsApp messaging us that night, when it was happening, asking to see our son because she wanted to say goodbye,” Sullivan said. “I was trying to think of all of the training that I had done to make sure that she was being safe … Seeing that tragedy both on the news but then through a person that you care about who is experiencing it directly really shows the hatred that exists in parts of the world for the Jewish community.”

Addressing the ongoing war, Sullivan described a ceasefire deal to free the hostages as important, but emphasized that Israel must continue to be able to protect itself, noting that Hamas fighters and leaders continue to hide in tunnels underneath schools and hospitals in Gaza.

“We have to also allow Israel to defend itself and make sure that there’s no outside threat coming from terrorist organizations, including Hamas and their operatives,” Sullivan said. 

He said Israel should have significant influence in how Gaza is rebuilt and in working to ensure that Gaza is “more democratic and more aligned with Israel and America’s values” going forward, and that Hamas cannot have a role in governance in Gaza.

Sullivan praised Israel’s operations in southern Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure.

Asked about a two-state solution, Sullivan said that such a resolution should be the U.S.’ ultimate goal, but “at the same time, we need to give Israel the ability to make the decision for themselves” and that Israel must feel that any outcome is in its best interests and will protect its security.

He added that Iran and its proxies should be “choke[d] off.” Sullivan described the negotiations that the Trump administration has pursued as “the right start,” though he said he was worried about the lack of experience of some of the U.S. officials involved in leading those talks.

Sullivan said one of his frustrations with the original 2015 nuclear deal was that it released significant funding and provided sanctions relief for Iran, giving it more ability to fuel regional terrorism. He argued that relief should not have come until later in the deal’s implementation, once Iran had made more progress in dismantling its nuclear infrastructure and shown it would cooperate with international inspections.

He said that regional terrorism should be addressed in any new deal with Iran. He said a new deal with Iran should also include unfettered access for inspectors to Iran’s nuclear program or, barring that, full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities. Iran, he said, is not “a fair partner and somebody who’s really truly focused on playing by the rules”

Sullivan’s other work at the FBI included tackling gangs and cartels and pursuing those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and other domestic terrorism cases, including an incident in which individuals called bomb threats into Jewish institutions around the country.

“I will call out antisemitism whenever it exists, and I’ll call on the law enforcement community — knowing the tools and the abilities they have — to, while respecting First Amendment rights, do everything to make sure Jewish people here in America, Israelis in Israel are feeling safe and have the ability to go about their day freely being protected … without the fear of harassment or being targeted simply based on their religion and their culture,” Sullivan said.

“We have people in Congress who often will try to say something that’s kind of middle-of-the-road [on antisemitism]. With me, you’ll never have to worry about that,” Sullivan said. 

He said that while it’s important to protect First Amendment rights, his law enforcement career taught him that there are limits to such speech and that threats to Jewish people’s safety and security require a response. He said, as an example, that campus protests cheering on Hamas make Jewish students feel unsafe and have crossed into antisemitism.

“I will call out antisemitism whenever it exists, and I’ll call on the law enforcement community — knowing the tools and the abilities they have — to, while respecting First Amendment rights, do everything to make sure Jewish people here in America, Israelis in Israel are feeling safe and have the ability to go about their day freely being protected … without the fear of harassment or being targeted simply based on their religion and their culture,” he continued.

Sullivan suggested that the Trump administration is not as focused on the issue as it claims to be, characterizing its moves to deport student visa holders over alleged anti-Israel activity as “actions more targeted on immigration and veiled in [combating] antisemitism.”

He said that there are “a lot better ways to go about fighting back against antisemitism.”

Sullivan spoke to JI prior to the recent antisemitic terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colo.

Sullivan said that Trump’s decision to pardon all of those involved in Jan. 6 on his first day in office, administration officials’ moves to force out other top FBI officials and other policies convinced him to resign his post at the agency and speak out publicly against the administration. He accused the administration of jeopardizing counterterrorism efforts through its actions at the FBI.

Outside of national security policy, Sullivan said that the administration’s tariff policy and other economic moves are making life less affordable for his and other families, another motivating factor for his run.

He accused Lawler of masquerading as a moderate while actually backing the Trump administration’s policies, pointing to Trump’s endorsement of Lawler for reelection.

Sullivan, one of six Democratic candidates who’ve already joined the race, argued that his national security and law enforcement experience protecting U.S. citizens will help distinguish him from the field. He said his work inside the federal government showed him the good that the federal government can do for the American people.

While Sullivan’s particular experience is unique, each of the candidates running in the district, which is home to a significant Jewish population, has highlighted their support for Israel, and many are speaking in similar terms about combating antisemitism. One of the other candidates in the race, Cait Conley, also has experience working on national security issues and in the Middle East. 

Lawler, for his part, has focused on building and maintaining strong relationships with the Jewish community in the district. His strong support among Jewish voters helped him win re-election in 2024; he is one of only three House Republicans to win a district that Kamala Harris carried in the presidential election.