LAS VEGAS — Jewish House Republicans said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas earlier this month that there’s little appetite among Republicans to end U.S. aid to Israel as the two sides look toward the end of the current memorandum of understanding on military aid.

They also said they do not have serious concerns about antisemitism on the right, and argued that it did not stand any real chance of encroaching into the GOP.

Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) argued to Jewish Insider that the near-unanimous GOP vote this summer against an amendment to cut off U.S. aid to Israel showed that most Republicans want U.S. aid to continue, when asked about the next MOU and the prospect of winding down aid.

“I think the message is that the majority of the members of the House want to want to see the aid continue, want to see this alliance continue, but elections have consequences, and we don’t know what the makeup of the next house is going to be on the Republican side and on the Democrat side,” he said.

Kustoff said that the vote to cut off aid on the Democratic side, including House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA), shows “where the Democrat[ic] Party is going,” even as he praised select members like retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for continuing to stand up for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

“I do feel confident that if the Republicans maintain the majority of the House, that this strong relationship continues and exists,” Kustoff said.

Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) emphasized that Israel and the United States are facing threats not only from Iran and its nuclear program but also from the terrorist groups that Iran has spent decades funding.

“I certainly will fight tooth and nail as long as I’m a member of U.S. Congress to continue aid to Israel,” Goldman told JI. “It’s too important for not only our national security but world security. Our strongest ally in the Middle East, we can’t let fall in bad hands.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) also argued to JI that continuing aid is in the interests of the U.S., explaining, “I think it’s in Israel’s best interest to stop taking the aid. I don’t know that it’s in America’s best interest.”

At least some Republicans on Capitol Hill have argued, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that U.S. aid to Israel should be wound down and ended in the coming years, though the idea does not seem to have purchase among others like Kustoff, Goldman and Fine.

Kustoff also told JI that the administration needs to “continue to make the argument” to Congress and the American public about the next steps in the Iran war in order to secure the necessary funding from Congress to continue the war effort.

“It’s so important for the administration to talk about what these next steps look like, and again, for the members of Congress who are going to be voting on these important appropriations, we need to know what these next several weeks look like in terms of planning and implementation,” Kustoff said.

Kustoff said that antisemitism is “far more” of a problem on the left than the right, pointing to recent primary results, but acknowledged that misinformation on social media targeting the Jewish community is impacting younger Americans regardless of political affiliation.

“There is no easy answer. Part of it is that people like me on our side, and people on the Democrat[ic] side, have to stand up and denounce and call out the misinformation, the out-and-out lies that are out there on social media,” Kustoff said. “We know that the misinformation emanates from the enemies of Israel and the enemies of the United States, to permeate discontent primarily among our younger population.”

He argued that the Republican Party can block antisemites from gaining ground in the GOP, as they have in the Democratic Party, by remaining firm on its “principles,” standing unequivocally in support of Israel and focusing on recruiting candidates who align with the party’s values and ideals.

Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former House Republican, also argued during a press appearance at the RJC conference that antisemitism on the right is less serious of a problem than on the left.

Democrats, he emphasized, are campaigning alongside the likes of streamer Hasan Piker, framing some candidates as functionally answering to Piker and his views.

“Where do you see congressional Republicans on the ballot this November campaigning with a [neo-Nazi] Nick Fuentes? It’s just it doesn’t happen. You know there’s no defense of him on the trail, and there’s a reason for that,” Zeldin said, arguing that Fuentes is not actually a conservative at all.

The Democratic Party leadership, he continued, is “being led by those extreme elements.” Zeldin said he witnessed the evolution of the Democratic Party firsthand with the rise of the Squad during his time on Capitol Hill. He also argued that the right-wing equivalent of a Squad member would never make it to a GOP nomination or be elected to federal office.

“When you see antisemitism, it should be singularly identified and crushed in any form, and antisemitism has no place in this country. I’ll say it unequivocally. I’ll say it forcefully and passionately every single time,” he said, when asked by JI how to prevent such a trend from repeating itself among Republicans. 

“It’s to be identified, confronted and crushed,” he continued. “How do you eliminate it? It’s not by elevating it, embracing it, empowering it. You can’t be silent towards it. You can’t allow it to spread and gain a foothold. Wherever you see it, you have to identify it, and you have to crush it.”

Goldman voiced fears about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America on the left.

“Organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America scare me as not only just an American but as a Jewish American,” Goldman said. “I have tremendous fears of what’s building on the left.”

He noted that the other Goldman on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), had been defeated by a further left candidate despite being a reliably progressive vote. 

“That’s very, very scary,” he said. “That member, that person’s going to be a member of the U.S. Congress next year. So I think it’s a big moment to wake up. … This isn’t just normal Democrats running and winning. These are socialists.”

He said he’s not concerned about antisemites gaining similar purchase within the GOP.