A group of 136 House Republicans released a joint statement on Friday calling for increased oversight of and accountability from Syria, days after voting to repeal the last major sanctions package on the country as part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Trump administration had pushed Congress to repeal the so-called Caesar Act sanctions, an action finalized when Trump signed the 2026 NDAA Thursday evening, but some lawmakers on the Hill have harbored continued reservations about the new government in Syria and ensuring it continues to make progress on democracy building.

The statement indicates that a significant number of Republican lawmakers remain concerned about the Syrian government’s conduct going forward. It follows an attack by ISIS affiliates who also reportedly had ties to the Syrian government that killed two U.S. service members and a civilian interpreter in Syria last weekend. The statement has been in the works since last week, shortly after the House voted to pass the NDAA, a source familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider.

“Bringing religious freedom into Syria is the only way the country will fully stabilize. The sanctions repealed by the NDAA will help economically, but violence will not cease until [Syrian President Ahmad] al-Sharaa uses his position to denounce religiously motivated attacks,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), a co-lead of the joint statement, told Jewish Insider.

The lawmakers, led by Stutzman and Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK), said in the joint statement that members of Congress interested in protecting religious minorities in the region “worked with the Trump Administration and House leadership to secure assurances that snapback conditions … would be enforced if Syria does not comply with the terms highlighted in the repeal language.”

The NDAA includes language calling for the administration to reimpose sanctions on Syria if a variety of human rights, security and anti-corruption conditions are not met, and for reporting to Congress on those benchmarks — but the language is not binding and the strict and sweeping Caesar Act sanctions could not be reimposed by executive authority without another act of Congress.

The lawmakers said that the “the mass murder of the Syrian Christians, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and other religious and ethnic minorities must be a thing of the past” and that they are “committed to keeping a watchful eye on the new al-Sharaa Administration to ensure protections for religious and ethnic minorities.”

They said they would like to travel to Syria to see firsthand that religious protections are being upheld, particularly in Suweida, the city with a substantial Druze population where government-aligned forces carried out mass atrocities earlier this year.

“We look forward to confirming that these terms have not been squandered by the Syrian government — whether by their president or by rogue military officials — and seeing for ourselves that the al-Sharaa Administration has created a safe environment for the religious and ethnic minorities historically persecuted in the region,” the statement continued.

The lawmakers also said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) had agreed to hold a hearing on “the verified change of treatment for religious minorities in Syria.”

Mast himself, who had been the last major roadblock on the Hill to sanctions repeal and pushed for the nonbinding snapback language to be included, is one of the first signatories on the statement.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that the “unconditional” sanctions repeal is a significant step, while highlighting the congressional oversight and monitoring obligations.

“After long and serious consideration, we have worked closely with the Trump Administration to responsibly repeal the Caesar Act, which played an important role in the fall of the Assad Regime,” Risch said. “This unconditional repeal removes a significant roadblock to U.S. and international commercial investments in Syria. It also increases reporting and monitoring on benchmarks such as ethnic and religious persecution to ensure Syria remains on the path to becoming a U.S. partner that makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom held a hearing with Syrian minority group leaders last month, where representatives of the Syrian Druze, Christian and Alawite communities warned of systemic religious persecution by the new government and urged Congress to place conditions on the repeal of sanctions.

But others, including the Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation (JHS), a group of U.S.-based Syrian Jews working to restore Jewish sites and relics in Syria, celebrated the sanctions repeal.

“Once President Trump signs the bill into law, we will be able to increase our efforts to preserve Jewish heritage, continue the search for those we have lost, and move forward with healing and restoration,” JHS said in a statement. “We can now begin rebuilding our synagogues, especially the ancient and historic Jobar Synagogue, one of the oldest Jewish sites in the world.”

Other leaders in the Syrian Jewish community have distanced themselves from the leadership of JHS and its affiliates, claiming they do not speak for the Syrian Jewish community in the U.S. at large.

Qatar, whose ties to the Muslim Brotherhood have drawn scrutiny in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, is doubling down on a charm offensive focused on a handful of GOP lawmakers and conservative social media influencers, all while hosting two of the most established brands in American news. 

A group of House Republicans visited Qatar during the House’s Thanksgiving recess last week, including Reps. Laurel Lee (R-FL), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Lance Gooden (R-TX). The trip occurred just before the House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote on legislation that classifies the entire Muslim Brotherhood organization globally as a terrorist group.

A group of conservative social media influencers also visited Qatar over Thanksgiving, posting glowing dispatches lauding the country and its role in hosting a U.S. military base. 

Rob Smith, one of the invited guests, posted credulously about Qatar on his Instagram feed after the trip, “I wasn’t aware of a great deal of things about Qatar, only misperceptions and half-truths I’d read about online. When the opportunity was presented to me, with full authority and autonomy to ask the tough questions of the officials I’d be meeting with, I decided to risk any potential criticism and to travel and experience it for myself.”

Meanwhile, numerous prominent celebrities — including comedian Kevin Hart, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and tennis star Novak Djokovic — gathered in Doha over the weekend for the 2025 Formula One Qatar Grand Prix.

And this week, the country is hosting the Doha Forum, a conference co-sponsored by CNN. Those attending the conference include several Trump administration officials and ambassadors, politicians and philanthropists, alongside Israel-bashing officials such as former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, sanctioned U.N. special rapporteur Francesca Albanese and former Iran envoy Rob Malley.

Others on the guest list include: Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz, the Heritage Foundation’s Victoria Coates, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour and other officials, leaders and analysts from around the world.

Also this week, The Wall Street Journal is hosting a technology conference in Doha, featuring business leaders and celebrities, hosted by various Journal reporters. As JI’s Matthew Kassel reports, the summit is raising ethical questions surrounding the paper’s deepening business ties with Qatar — even as the Journal’s conservative editorial page has slammed the Gulf monarchy as a financial and diplomatic sponsor of Hamas. 

Each of these events comes at a time when Qatar’s complicated public reputation in the United States is becoming a flashpoint, particularly inside the conservative movement.

The Trump administration announced in late November plans to designate branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and the House Foreign Affairs Committee is taking up legislation on Wednesday that aims to proscribe the entire group.

Though the White House’s executive order on the issue sidestepped any mention of Qatar, the country has been a major Muslim Brotherhood patron, and analysts have characterized the Qatari branch of the Muslim Brotherhood as one of the organization’s key terrorist arms.

The simmering battle in the conservative movement was on display in a heated social media exchange between Trump ally and far-right influencer Laura Loomer, a vocal critic of Qatar, and Zinke’s chief of staff, Heather Swift.

Loomer, in a series of posts blasting the Republicans who visited Qatar, took particular aim at Zinke, mocking his attire and claiming he was visiting to “beg [the Qataris] for money.” She also said that “Qatar is trying to control every member of Congress. This is very alarming.”

Swift shot back, “[Zinke] has given more of his life and blood to eradicating Islamic jihadis than this woman ever will. … Strongest possible record against Iran and for Israel. Perhaps being a member of the House Foreign [Affairs] committee may require speaking with foreign leaders from time to time so they know where the USA stands.”

Loomer also pressed Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson about the U.S.-Qatar relationship and Qatar’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday. Wilson responded by saying that the “U.S. military has a long-standing partnership with Qatar, and we look forward to continuing that partnership.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who entered office in 2021 with a record of espousing antisemitic conspiracy theories and emerged since Oct. 7, 2023, as one of the most vocal opponents of Israel in the House Republican conference, announced on Friday that she will resign her seat, effective Jan. 5, 2026.

Greene’s announcement comes a week after President Donald Trump disavowed her, calling her a “traitor” and indicating that he would endorse a primary challenger, if a viable one emerged.

The Georgia congresswoman rose to political prominence due to her long history of promoting various antisemitic and otherwise fringe conspiracy theories. Greene was elected in spite of efforts from fellow Republicans to defeat her after she won the GOP primary in her district in 2020. She continued to face accusations of antisemitism during her time in office and repeatedly invoked a range of antisemitic tropes.

Though she initially cast herself as a supporter of Israel, she more recently flipped on the issue, now condemning the Jewish state, accusing it of genocide in Gaza and repeatedly attempting to pass measures to cut off all U.S. aid.

In her farewell message, Greene repeatedly railed against U.S. foreign engagement and “foreign interests.”

“Americans’ hard earned tax dollars always fund foreign wars, foreign aid, and foreign interests,” Greene said in a lengthy resignation letter. “America First should mean America First and only Americans First, with no other foreign country ever being attached to America First in our halls of government,” Greene said.

Jewish Republicans have long opposed the congresswoman, and the Republican Jewish Coalition repeatedly backed challengers to her. The RJC responded mockingly to her announcement with a gif of Trump waving, with the caption, “And we say bye bye.”

The controversial Georgia congresswoman spent much of her first term in office in the political wilderness, sidelined by her own party and expelled from her committee assignments by bipartisan House votes led by Democrats.

But she later emerged as a key ally of Trump in the House after Republicans retook the chamber in the 2022 midterms, and also became a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Greene’s influence waned, however, after McCarthy was booted from the speakership in 2023, and she has more frequently been relegated to the sidelines as a hard-right opponent of the House Republican leadership’s agenda. She contemplated a run for Senate or governor in Georgia, but Republican leaders declined to back those efforts.

In recent months, she has grown increasingly critical of key elements of the Republican and Trump agendas, including his support for Israel and attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.

Following Trump’s break with Greene last week, she implied that Israel and pro-Israel interests had pressured him into disowning her.

In her resignation letter, Greene was defiant, insisting that she could beat back any primary challenger but saying that she did not want to put herself, her family and her district through such a challenge.

“I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene said. “And in turn, be expected to defend the President against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.”

She said that she is being cast aside by “MAGA Inc” to be replaced by “Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class.”

But she also teased plans for a political comeback. Greene has been rumored to have aspirations for a presidential run in 2028, something she has denied.

“When the common American people finally realize and understand that the Political Industrial Complex of both parties is ripping this country apart, that not one elected leader like me is able to stop Washington’s machine from gradually destroying our country, and instead the reality is that they, common Americans, The People, possess the real power over Washington, then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it,” Greene said.

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), one of the few Jewish Republicans in the House, said on X, “One antisemite down. One to go.”

House Republicans sounded largely supportive of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that he plans to sign a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, despite an apparent lack of progress toward normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel.

The deal was previously seen as linked to Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel — a prospect that seems less viable following the war in Gaza. The Trump administration is pushing ahead nonetheless.

“I’m very supportive of the president in every effort to reach out to Saudi Arabia,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Jewish Insider. “Saudi Arabia has been so significant in addressing the regime change in Syria and so over and over again, Saudi Arabia is proving [itself].”

He further noted that the kingdom has agreed to buy around $40 billion in Boeing aircraft manufactured in Wilson’s home state — “so I could give you a couple of reasons why I want to continue what the president is doing. He’s doing a great job.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, indicated that he supports the sale. A spokesperson highlighted that he has introduced legislation that would allow Abraham Accords members a quicker timeline to acquire U.S. weapons systems.

“The U.S. partnership with Saudi Arabia is essential to expanding the Abraham Accords, isolating Iran and its proxies, and advancing regional stability. Congressman Lawler is focused on ensuring our partners can deter malign influence from Russia, China, and Iran,” Lawler spokesperson Ciro Riccardi said in a statement.

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, expressed confidence that the normalization process is proceeding.

“With the recent addition of Kazakhstan to the Accords, momentum continues to build for increased normalization of economic and diplomatic ties with our greatest democratic partner in the Middle East, Israel,” Wagner told JI. “Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Accords would be hugely beneficial to Israel, the U.S., and other Abraham Accords partners, and I am confident that President Trump is working hard to bring Saudi Arabia on board. As co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, I will be watching developments with the Saudis closely, with a strong hope they officially join the accords in the future.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a pro-Israel Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, suggested that the deal could be a precursor to further progress on normalization.

“I actually think we are taking steps toward normalization in the region. We just added a country to the Abraham Accords in Kazakhstan and so I think [the F-35 deal] perhaps could be the beginning step toward normalization,” he said.

But other Democrats expressed more hesitance about the deal.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, suggested that normalization should precede the sale of F-35s.

“Saudi Arabia either bilaterally normalizing relations with Israel or joining the Abraham Accords would change the entire political and security landscape in the Middle East. Such a change would certainly require a reassessment of the assumptions underpinning our strategic outlook for the region and revisions to our policy doctrines, including provision of the F-35 platform to Saudi Arabia, while also preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge,” Schneider said.

He added that it is “imperative that Congress maintains its proper role in the foreign military sales process. The White House must provide to Congress a classified briefing on what the United States is receiving in return for the potential sale of F-35s,” vowing to his “colleagues to ensure that any transfer protects our service members, advances our interests, and preserves Israel’s security.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a leading opponent of advanced weapons sales to Saudi Arabia who also sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the sale could compromise Israel’s security.

“Just because they aren’t Shiite doesn’t mean they are Zionists. I am very concerned about anything [that] impairs Israel’s qualitative military advantage,” Sherman said. “I fear that our policies could be influenced by Saudi purchases of Trump coin,” a reference to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, characterized Trump’s announcement as premature. 

“We’ll see how that plays out. There’s a lot of things that have to be done before that decision is made,” he said, adding that he’s “a little skeptical [of the announcement] until I hear some more details.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and a group of Republican House lawmakers warned the Irish government on Monday that pending legislation to criminalize the importation of Israeli goods from the West Bank and east Jerusalem into Ireland risks damaging the country’s economic relationship with the United States.

The lawmakers also criticized Dublin’s efforts to support a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

“This legislation threatens to inflict real harm on American companies operating in Ireland. If enacted, it would put U.S. firms in direct conflict with federal and state-level anti-boycott laws in the U.S., forcing them into an impossible legal position and jeopardizing their ability to do business in Ireland,” the letter, addressed to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, reads. “Therefore, were it to pass this bill, Ireland would risk causing significant damage to its own economic credibility and partnerships with American commerce.”

The letter describes the proposed policy as “a discriminatory move by Ireland to economically target Israel and demonize the world’s only Jewish state” and “divisive, one-sided political theater” which “creates a blatant double standard toward the Jewish state.”

The lawmakers said they are “also deeply concerned” about Ireland’s accusations of genocide against Israel and efforts to persuade the ICJ to modify its definition of genocide to pursue a case against Israel.

“We strongly reject Ireland’s effort to distort the international legal standards related to this most serious crime in order to accuse Israel of committing it,” the letter continues. “We also object to Ireland’s ongoing dismissal of the substantial evidence that Israel’s intention in Gaza is to eliminate the security threat posed by Hamas while Hamas intentionally uses innocent civilians as human shields.”

The letter states that such moves are “fueling rising antisemitic and anti-Zionist sentiment in Ireland and beyond,” and urges the country to cease both efforts in order to “preserve the economic and diplomatic ties between our two nations.”

The letter is also a relatively rare example in a partisan and polarized Washington of a pro-Israel Democratic congressman joining forces with his Republican colleagues. No other House Democrats joined Gottheimer in criticizing the Irish government over its boycott of Israeli goods.

The letter was co-signed by 22 GOP  lawmakers: Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Randy Fine (R-FL), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Mark Messmer (R-IN), Max Miller (R-OH), Barry Moore (R-AL), John Rose (R-TN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).

The newly open Senate race in Iowa could pit a House Republican seen as a conventional conservative against challengers likely to attack her from the right. The race could also be an early bellwether of the GOP’s direction as it moves toward the post-Trump era.

Multiple outlets reported on Friday that Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will drop her bid for reelection in 2026 and retire from the Senate at the end of her current term. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ernst has been a staunch ally of Israel and an Iran hawk in the upper chamber, traveling to the region repeatedly since Oct. 7, 2023, and serving as a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus.

Ernst has been vocal in calling for ramping up U.S. pressure on Qatar to squeeze Hamas to release the hostages being held in Gaza, and has been a champion of efforts to integrate American, Israeli and Arab defensive systems in the region, including air and missile defense.

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), a former local news anchor and state representative elected to Congress in 2020, is widely seen as likely to make a run for Ernst’s seat. She’s been an ally of Ernst as the senator has faced right-wing attacks..

In the House, Hinson has a consistent record of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship and legislation to combat antisemitism, and has signed onto congressional letters criticizing international legal cases against Israel and supporting the Abraham Accords. She supported the U.S. strikes on Iran earlier this summer.

Hinson called the U.S.-Israel relationship “absolutely imperative … for both of our countries,” in 2020. “We look at not only the partnerships for security, but also for economic development, research, medicine. There are so many ways our countries are helping each other, and I think that relationship is invaluable both from the past and going forward.”

Hinson has been endorsed in previous races by AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Her House campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Should she enter the race, she’ll face the prospect of running against lesser-known, right-wing Republicans like Jim Carlin, a former state senator who entered the race to challenge Ernst from the right.

Carlin has framed himself as a “reliable ally to President [Donald] Trump, not an adversary.” He has attacked Ernst for decisions including her vote in support of additional U.S. support for Ukraine.

“America First isn’t a slogan — it’s a governing philosophy. It means protecting American borders before foreign ones. It means putting our economy, our people, and our future ahead of global interests,” Carlin’s campaign site reads. “We need our allies to step up and pay their fair share.”

He added that European allies should “[pay] their fair share and [handle] their own issues. We’ve given them enough,” opposed additional aid to Ukraine and said that the “war must stop now!”

Carlin put up a meager showing in a primary challenge against Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in 2022, picking up just 27% of the primary vote.

NBC News reported that Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO and former acting attorney general, may also be interested in the seat. He ran against Ernst in the 2014 GOP primary, only winning 8% of the vote. But as a Trump loyalist, he could have a shot at landing Trump’s endorsement, which could prove a problem for other potential candidates.

Whitaker, prior to his service in Brussels, had little foreign policy experience or record, but during his confirmation hearing said the Trump administration’s commitment to the mutual defense agreements enshrined in Article V of the NATO treaty were “ironclad.” He has also called on European allies to spend more on their own defense and provide additional support to Ukraine.

Joshua Smith, a former libertarian and podcast host, also declared his candidacy against Ernst. On his X account, Smith has been a critic of the U.S.-Israel relationship, saying “Joni definitely stands with Israel (money),” Israel is a “fake state of anti Jesus heathens who are fine with killing children” and “Iran is not a threat to America. Palestine is not a threat to America.”

Smith has opposed U.S. aid for Israel, suggested Israel is attempting a genocide, said that “you can’t be antiwar and support the continued support of the US for Israel,” claimed that Jews suffer from a “Jewish victim complex” and alleged that the U.S. attempted to “make Christianity antisemitic and outlaw criticism of Israel.”

Democrats are expected to make an aggressive bid for the seat in the general election, and several have already entered the primary race, including state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls and Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris.

David Yepsen, a longtime former political writer, editor and columnist at the Des Moines Register, told Jewish Insider that Hinson is the likely favorite if she gets in the race, but that she could face a real challenge from her right. 

Yepsen said that Hinson had previously been seen as more of a moderate, though she has recently made efforts to align herself more closely with Trump and the MAGA wing of the GOP.

Yepsen predicted a “really good race” in the general election, given that Democrats have already fielded several contenders, have put up strong showings in recent state special elections, have been energized by opposition to the Trump administration and have an advantage in the midterms. 

Yepsen added that, given the open Senate seat, an open gubernatorial race, multiple competitive House races and the developing presidential primary race, the coming cycle is likely to be an “unprecedented race in modern Iowa politics.” 

“There are plenty of Iowa Republicans who are not MAGAs, who are not Trump people, who just wanted somebody else,” he said. “It’s going to be played out on the ground, these early things about what the Republican Party is, what it stands for, what it’s going to be going forward. There are national implications to what goes on here in Iowa.”

Yepsen said that Ernst’s retirement is not likely to be a surprise to many in the state, given her clashes with Trump-aligned conservatives in the state and other recent scandals and public missteps. Democrats, he added, have seen her as vulnerable.

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.