Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) told Jewish Insider following a visit to Israel and Jordan last week that there is a “unique, potentially generational opportunity” to change the Middle East if the U.S. can help put an end to Iran’s nuclear weapons program and its support for regional terrorism.

Landsman also told JI he’s working on legislation to create a bipartisan select committee focused on Middle East peace, an initiative he said would help elevate the issue and find bipartisan solutions.

As the Trump administration proceeds in talks with Iran, Landsman said U.S. lawmakers should insist on four key components in any potential nuclear deal: stringent monitoring and verification; an Iranian commitment to an exclusively civilian nuclear program; an end to all Iranian domestic enrichment and the removal of all enriched uranium from the country; and an end to Iran’s support for regional terrorism.

He said that eliminating Iran’s support for regional terrorism would radically change the lives of the Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Yemeni, Iraqi and Israeli people — ”let these people go, leave them alone,” Landsman said.

“Everyone wins. Literally — everyone wins,” Landsman added. “That’s the key, and probably one of the most important things to Middle East peace. If [Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff and the administration have those in play, and they’re willing to pull the right coalition together to get that done, that would be a game changer.”

He added that “anything short of that leaves the Middle East insecure and constantly in this cycle of violence. The suffering has to end.”

Landsman called on American, Israeli, Jordanian, Egyptian and Saudi leaders to make clear that any deal must include all four of those elements. He said he heard a consistent message to that effect from Israeli and Jordanian leaders he spoke with during his trip. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who also visited the Middle East during the recent congressional recess, delivered a similar readout.

“If [a deal is] short of any of those things, that’s a big problem,” Landsman continued, adding that the only way to compel Iran to agree to such a formulation is if it knows that the alternative is an Israeli or joint Israeli, American and allied strike on its nuclear program.

“There has to be that sense of urgency for them,” Landsman said.

The lawmaker continued that the administration’s varying comments about the nature and goal of its talks with Iran have created “uncertainty,” which is “the last thing the Middle East needs.”

“You need strong, determined, focused leadership with clear intent,” Landsman said.

The Ohio congressman added that those pushing for peace and an end to the war in Gaza should be focusing their attention on ending Iran’s malign influence and on calling on Hamas to release all of the hostages and relinquish its hold on power in Gaza.

He said that forcing Hamas out of power will require help from the international community.

“When you go over there, [you hear] that these Arab leaders are done with Hamas — they’re absolutely done,” Landsman said. “The more Hamas understands that everyone’s done with them, I think the sooner they will accept that it’s time to release the hostages and hand over Gaza to the Palestinians.”

He added that pressure is mounting on all parties involved to reach a deal to free the hostages and restore humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Coming off of the trip, Landsman announced that he’s working on legislation to create a congressional select committee — with bipartisan representation from both chambers of Congress — on Middle East peace. He said he’s working to receive support from congressional leadership.

“Congress has to be more engaged in building stronger relationships in Israel, especially within the Knesset, as well as with Palestinian leaders and leaders from partnering Arab nations,” Landsman said.

He argued that past select committees and commissions have helped bring lawmakers together with experts to implement important bipartisan legislation that has made real progress.

He said that greater “attention and dedication” from Congress will make it more likely that the hostages will be freed, the war in Gaza will end, humanitarian aid will resume and will be protected from Hamas diversion and that a coalition of U.S. partners will step up to remove Hamas from Gaza and invest in rebuilding.

“It’s just too big of a priority not to have this kind of dedicated long-term commitment from Congress,” Landsman said.

Landsman said another key takeaway from the trip was that Jordan is a “critical intelligence and security partner” for the United States and that cutting U.S. aid to Jordan “will do enormous damage to Jordan, and our allies, and to Israel and to us.”

The congressional delegation, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), was in Israel during Holocaust Remembrance Day, and spent the day with hostage families and participating in a Knesset Holocaust remembrance ceremony.

Landsman said the ceremony strengthened “my commitment to Middle East peace and a Jewish state … You just realize how critically important it is to have a safe place for Jews, to have a Jewish state that is secure and that security is linked to the success and security of the neighborhood and getting to a place of peace and more and more countries normalizing relations with Israel, which is on the horizon.”

Seventy-four House lawmakers  wrote to the boards of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania on Friday demanding that they immediately fire their presidents in response to widely criticized congressional testimony they delivered on antisemitism on their campuses earlier this week.

The presidents of the three schools have come under increasing scrutiny this week amid growing speculation that their jobs could be on the line following their refusal to say earlier this week that calls for Jewish genocide would violate their schools’ codes of conduct.

“Testimony provided by presidents of your institutions showed a complete absence of moral clarity and illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities that your university presidents enabled,” the letter reads. “Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan” to ensure the safety of the Jewish community on campus.

“Anything less,” than the steps they requested, the lawmakers continued, “will be seen as your endorsement… and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture.”

The letter was led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who questioned the presidents on the genocide issue, and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is the only other Democrat who signed the letter; the rest are Republicans.

The lawmakers said that the testimony makes it “hard to imagine” any Jewish or Israeli person feeling safe on their campuses when the presidents “could not say that calls for the genocide of Jews would have clear consequences on your campus.”

It adds that subsequent social media statements seeking to clarify or walk back those comments “offered little clarification on your campus’ true commitment to protecting vulnerable students in this moment of crisis,” describing them instead as “desperate attempts to try and save their jobs” and “too little too late.”

Shortly before the Stefanik-Moskowitz letter was released, a group of thirteen House Democrats wrote to the boards of the three schools urging them to re-examine their codes of conduct to make clear that calls for the genocide of Jews are not acceptable.

This second letter, led by Reps. Kathy Manning (D-NC), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Susan Wild (D-PA), includes similar language to the bipartisan letter regarding the presidents’ testimony and how it would make Jewish campus members feel unsafe, but stops short of directly calling for the presidents to be fired.

The lawmakers wrote that they felt “compelled to ask” if the presidents’ responses “align with the values and policies of your respective institutions.”

“The presidents’ unwillingness to answer questions clearly or fully acknowledge appalling and unacceptable behavior — behavior that would not have been tolerated against other groups — illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities at your universities,” the letter continues. “The lack of moral clarity these presidents displayed is simply unacceptable.”

The lawmakers requested that the schools update their policies to “ensure that they protect students from hate” and describe their plans for protecting Jewish and Israeli community members.

“There is no context in which calls for the genocide of Jews is acceptable rhetoric,” the letter reads. “While Harvard and Penn subsequently issued clarifying statements which were appreciated, their failure to unequivocally condemn calls for the systematic murder of Jews during the public hearing is deeply alarming and stands in stark contrast to the principles we expect leaders of top academic institutions to uphold.”

The letter notes that federal civil rights law prohibits discrimination against Jews on campus, and that criminal law bans hate crimes, violence and incitement to violence.

“Students and faculty who threaten, harass, or incite violence towards Jews must be held accountable for their actions,” the lawmakers wrote. “If calls for genocide of the Jewish people are not in violation of your universities’ policies, then it is time for you to reexamine your policies and codes of conduct.”

Signatories to the Democratic letter include Manning, Wild, Auchincloss, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Grace Meng (D-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).

All of the signatories to the Democratic letter are either Jewish or deeply involved with Jewish community issues on the Hill. 

Earlier this week, a third letter by six House Republicans from Pennsylvania — Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), alongside Congressmen John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Dan Meuser (R-PA) — called for University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill specifically to be fired.