Fresh off his first congressional trip to Israel, Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) said that the future of his party remains pro-Israel, despite a vocal fringe of House Republicans opposing U.S. support for Israel amid its war against Hamas.

“I don’t know where they are with their thoughts and ideas,” McGuire, a freshman lawmaker representing Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, told Jewish Insider on Thursday, referring to attempts to block all U.S. funding to Israel by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). 

“I do understand that [the U.S. is] $37 trillion in debt, but as a Christian, I certainly support Israel and the Jewish people, and as an ally we would not have been able to successfully do that mission against Iran without the help of Israel,” McGuire said, referring to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, calling Greene and Massie “outliers” in the GOP. 

McGuire was elected to Congress in 2024 after challenging a Republican congressman, Bob Good, who voted against military assistance to Israel. McGuire’s campaign last year was backed by AIPAC’s super PAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition.

McGuire visited Israel earlier this month with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation, alongside 44 other freshmen House Republicans, a trip that he described as “heartbreaking, inspirational and enlightening.” 

The group met with leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. McGuire said that he had not heard in meetings with leaders a plan for bringing the war to an end, but said that in a sideline conversation, Netanyahu appeared receptive to his advice to “get the job done,” and remain in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.  

A former U.S. Navy SEAL, McGuire said he was particularly inspired while learning about Israel’s mandatory army service. “The U.S. should have a similar program,” he said, describing a “connection” he felt with Netanyahu over their shared military service. “He’s a special-ops guy, I’m a special-ops guy. One thing you learn in the military is there’s a bully on every corner and if you don’t stand up to them it just gets worse. We want to get the hostages home, but if we don’t finish the job, you’re going to have more hostages.” 

“The resilience that Israeli people have, despite being surrounded by folks that want to destroy them, they still are hopeful for the future,” McGuire continued. “They’re very patriotic to their country. When you drive around Israel, you see Israeli flags on every car. I’d like to see American flags on every car.” 

The trip also included visits to several kibbutzim infiltrated by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and meetings with family members of victims of the attacks, including a musical performance by Kibbutz Be’eri survivor and songwriter Daniel Weiss, whose parents were murdered by the terrorist organization. 

It was the congressman’s second time in the Jewish state, following a 2019 visit with his church. 

McGuire, a member of the cybersecurity subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, lauded Israel as a world leader in cybersecurity innovations and said the U.S.-Israel technology partnership is “strong.” 

“Watching the mission to take out Iranian nuclear capabilities, American and Israeli soldiers were in the same command/control rooms working together to make sure that the mission was a success,” he said, referring to the June 22 strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.  

Back stateside, McGuire said he is not satisfied with the steps being taken by leadership at the University of Virginia, located in his district , to address anti-Israel demonstrations and antisemitism on campus. He has not been in touch with the UVA administration yet regarding antisemitism, but said he is “working towards that.”

Returning from a trip to Israel, two first-term House Republicans blasted European nations and others that have recently hardened their positions toward Israel, saying that those decisions had set back efforts to free the hostages and end the war.

One of the lawmakers who visited Israel with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation also indicated that she had not heard in meetings with Israeli leaders a concrete plan for bringing the war to an end.

Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) told Jewish Insider she had been interested during the trip to examine the increasing hostility by European countries and others toward Israel, including their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state, and their public postures blaming Israel for the humanitarian issues in Gaza.

“It is not supported by the facts on the ground. … Europe’s actions definitely set back the … negotiations for Hamas releasing the existing hostages — potentially resulting in them dying,” Fedorchak said. “It’s maddening that these countries that should know better, or should take the time to find out better, are taking these very unhelpful positions.”

She called on the European leaders and others criticizing Israel to visit the sites of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and meet with Hamas’ victims, calling it “almost unfathomable that people are blaming Israel.”

“Go talk to the families whose houses were invaded, and the parents of 15-year-olds who died being shot at in a safe room, trying to hold the door from the terrorist on the other side,” Fedorchak said, “families who had to watch their women be raped and abused. The 300 young people that were killed at the music festival.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) told JI that it was critical for the group, and for supporters of Israel in general, to “continue to make clear the lie being spread about starvation” — which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted does not exist in the enclave while President Donald Trump has said there is “real starvation.”

Fine also said it was crucial to “stand up to these countries like France and the U.K. and Canada and Australia that have fully embraced Muslim terror and want to reward it.” 

He likewise argued that the European countries’ actions had extended the war. Fine said he’s not worried, however, about longer-term fallout from the shift away from Israel by some of its longtime European allies.

“I’ve always thought Israel needs to stop caring about what the world thinks and take care of itself,” he said. “There’s lots of antisemites in the world, they’re always looking for an excuse. … All of this stuff is simply an excuse to let your inner antisemitism out. That’s all any of it is.”

Fedorchak indicated that Israeli leaders had not laid out a concrete plan for how they would bring the war to an end.

“The big question of how do you end this, and how do you get out of it with the hostages alive — I didn’t ever hear a real great plan for that. I think that’s a million-dollar question,” Fedorchak said, highlighting concerns about the hostages being held in potentially booby-trapped tunnels, the risks to Israeli soldiers in the ongoing military campaign and the likelihood that further concessions to Hamas in negotiations will further embolden the terror group.

“I was frustrated that a long-term solution — or even an immediate solution for the war — is very elusive. I wish that it hadn’t gone on so long. I wish that when the hostages were first taken, the whole world would have stood with Israel and tried to get them back right away … so it wasn’t allowed to drag out so long,” she said.

Fine said that specific plans for ending the war would be sensitive for Israel to share, but that the goals remain the same, of bringing home the hostages and ensuring that terrorists do not continue to control Gaza.

“It has to get to an end point, so I am confident that it will get there,” Fine said. “I’m disappointed that I think these European countries, in their publicly backing Hamas, drag it out. If I was in Taiwan right now, I’d consider going into China and killing a bunch of people, because that seems to be the great way to get your country recognized.”

Fedorchak said she was struck by how the ongoing hostage crisis “has pretty much frozen in time that invasion in Israel, and everybody is reliving it pretty much constantly,” adding that the ongoing hostage situation is an “an ongoing, terrible human rights offense by Hamas.”

She added that the trip had highlighted the proximity of the threats that Israel faces: The lawmakers were forced to take shelter from a rocket attack on their first night in Israel. “You can’t appreciate what that’s like if you don’t go there and see it.”

The group also met with leadership from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Fine said that the meeting was an opportunity to learn more about its efforts — including that “they haven’t used any lethal force at all since they set up their sites,” he said.

He also noted that the GHF leaders told the group they had been trying to work with Hamas, “but the U.N.’s not interested in working with them, because the U.N. is an offshoot of Hamas.”

Fedorchak said that GHF leadership gave the impression that the organization was “making progress” in expanding aid deliveries and aiming to open more distribution sites. 

She said the U.S. should continue providing humanitarian aid and called on other nations to do so as well, calling it “critical” to protecting and supporting the Palestinians “that are really stuck there” as Israel continues its efforts to defeat Hamas, either through military means or a Hamas surrender.

“Hamas still has a stranglehold on the leadership and governing in Palestine or in Gaza, and they’re a terrorist organization with the [goal] of eliminating Israel,” Fedorchak said. “So that’s not going to work long term there. I don’t envision any time where Hamas can lead Gaza and provide peace and economic stability for the people there and for their neighbors to the east and north of Israel. So Hamas has to go.”

Nevertheless, Fedorchak said she came away feeling hopeful about the potential future beyond the war, saying that there’s “a lot of promise” for expanding the Abraham Accords and ultimately “hopefully providing an opening for a new pro-peace Palestinian leadership to take root in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Fine, who has traveled to Israel before and has quickly built a name for himself as a combative supporter of Israel in his short time since taking office, said he was grateful for all of the colleagues who joined the trip and showed their support for Israel.

“It was good to see that the anti-Israel voices are small and they are loud,” Fine said. “The vast majority of my colleagues, I think, are even more pro-Israel now than they were before. … I don’t think we can give too much attention to the antisemites in Congress. I think the vast majority of Republicans are more pro-Israel now than they were before, not less.”

He argued that an overlapping trip by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) — during which Johnson offered support for Israel asserting full sovereignty over the West Bank, which Fine refers to by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria — is a signal of Republicans’ continued and increased affinity for the Jewish state.

Addressing those — including some Republican lawmakers — who’ve grown frustrated with Israel’s leadership and the war in Gaza, Fine said that “their frustrations are misplaced.”

“The … people who it appears are starving in Gaza are the hostages,” he said. “The responsibility for all of this lies with the Muslim terrorists. This all ends if they release the hostages and surrender.”

Fedorchak said that the visit had given her “a greater appreciation for the value of America and our willingness to stand up for the ideals” that the U.S. shared with Israel and its allies. 

“I appreciate that the U.S. is willing to be on the front lines defending that, and the partnership with us and Israel is obviously central to Israel’s ongoing strength and existence in the Middle East,”  she said. “It’s really valuable to have an ally like Israel in the Middle East.”

Fedorchak said she was deeply impressed with Israel’s “resourcefulness,” both in developing impressive weapons and defensive systems as well as in agriculture, and with Israelis’ focus on family, patriotism and national service.

Fine noted that the group had also received a briefing about the atrocities committed against the Druze in Syria, and condemned the international community for its comparative lack of attention on that crisis. “Nobody cares when you see Druze being slaughtered in Syria … no Jews, no news,” he said.

Asked about whether the U.S. should adjust its policy toward the new Syrian government in response to the attacks against the Druze, Fine declined to weigh in specifically, while reiterating that the situation is “dire” and is being overlooked.

In addition to the large group meetings, Fine said he’d taken several one-on-one meetings at the request of Israeli leaders, including with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman and members of Israel’s foreign ministry.

He said that those meetings had also focused on Israeli security issues — ”making sure Israel is safe and secure, Jews are safe and secure and having zero tolerance for Muslim terror.”

Fine also said that he was stopped by Israelis repeatedly during the trip who recognized him and were “appreciative of the stands that I’ve taken, about wearing a kippah.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and a group of House Republicans are visiting Israel this week, in Johnson’s first visit to Israel since becoming speaker.

Johnson was set to visit Israel in June to address the Knesset, but postponed his visit after the war between Israel and Iran began. He will not be addressing the Knesset on this visit, a source familiar with his plans told Jewish Insider.

Johnson and those in his delegation — Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Michael Cloud (R-TX) — have prayed at the Western Wall and met with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

“We’re so grateful to be in Israel, particularly on this day, recognizing the destruction of the two Temples … it is such a moving time for us to be here at the Wailing Wall. We’ve offered our prayers, we’ve put our notes into the wall,” Johnson said in brief video remarks from the Kotel, which he visited on Tisha B’Av. “We’re so moved by the hospitality of the people and the great love of Israel.”

“Our prayer is that America will always stand with the people of Israel and we pray for the preservation and the peace of Jerusalem,” Johnson continued. “That’s what scripture tells us to do, it’s a matter of faith for us, and commitment that we have.”

Katz said in a statement that he thanked the lawmakers “for their unwavering support and moral clarity in standing with Israel against its enemies, and for their vital voices in the efforts to bring all the hostages home and defeat the murderous terrorist organization Hamas.”

Sa’ar said the group discussed global antisemitism, anti-Israel efforts by countries like Ireland and the attacks on the Druze in Syria, which Sa’ar said were “same kind of barbarism perpetrated by Hamas.”

The trip was organized by the U.S.-Israel Education Association.

In comments on CNN last week, Johnson raised concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying that “it is quite sad and quite alarming to see” and that he’d like to see the war in Gaza end soon.

Johnson’s office did not share any further details of his itinerary while he’s visiting the Jewish state.

A group of top House Republicans wrote to Harvard University on Monday, questioning the school about alleged work on research funded by the Iranian government, as well as members of the Chinese government.

The letter accuses Harvard researchers of working with Chinese academics on research funded by the Iranian National Science Foundation, an entity chartered by the Iranian government and ultimately controlled by the Iranian supreme leader.

It states that such work occurred at least four times since 2020, as recently as last year.

The letter was signed by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Moolenaar is the chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Walberg chairs the Education and Workforce Committee and Stefanik is the chair of House Republican Leadership.

“As you may know, under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control has specifically disallowed transactions incident to publication when they involve the Iranian government and its instrumentalities,” the letter reads. “This funding from an Iranian government agent raises serious concerns and may violate U.S. law.”

The lawmakers emphasized that the 2024 research took place following the imposition of wide-ranging U.S. sanctions on Iran, after Iranian proxies killed U.S. servicemembers and in the midst of intense U.S. government attention on Iran’s malign activities.

They requested a list of all collaborations between Harvard affiliates and anyone receiving funding from the Iranian government or Iranian government entities.

The letter as a whole focuses primarily on alleged connections between Harvard and Chinese researchers and programs, characterizing such work as a national security threat. 

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.