“The Democrat Fighting to Keep Support for Israel Bipartisan”

Chosen for emerging as one of the most forceful pro-Israel and anti-antisemitism voices in the Democratic Party: Congressman Josh Gottheimer has spent a decade building a reputation as a political centrist willing to cross party lines, but in 2026, his influence has been felt most strongly in the battles over Israel, antisemitism and America's national security.

Now serving his fifth term in Congress, Gottheimer sits on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, where he is the ranking Democrat on the NSA and Cyber Subcommittee.

Hatred is hatred, period. It doesn't matter whether it comes from the far right or the far left.

Josh Gottheimer, April 2026

That principle became a defining theme of Gottheimer's year. In May, he publicly challenged his own party in a New York Times op-ed, arguing that Democrats were applying a double standard to antisemitism, condemning hatred from the far right while too often remaining silent when it emerged from the far left. For a senior Democratic member of Congress, it was an unusually direct intervention in one of the most divisive debates inside the party.

In September, Gottheimer turned that advocacy into legislation and congressional action. The House passed the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, which he authored with Republican Virginia Foxx, by a 237-169 vote. The bill would restrict certain federal funding to universities that participate in commercial or academic boycotts of Israel. Days later, Gottheimer joined Republican Elise Stefanik to launch the new Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus, designed to hold universities accountable for protecting Jewish students and coordinate federal action against campus antisemitism.

His advocacy for Israel has also extended far beyond Capitol Hill. At the beginning of 2026, Gottheimer led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel, meeting regional leaders and U.S. military personnel to discuss Iran, terrorism, the Houthis and regional security. In Israel, he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, Hamas's disarmament, Iranian aggression and the expansion of the Abraham Accords.

That combination of diplomacy and national-security policy reflects Gottheimer's broader influence. As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, he has taken an increasingly prominent role on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and emerging threats, while remaining one of Congress's most persistent advocates for the U.S.-Israel security relationship.

At a moment when support for Israel has become increasingly contested within American politics, Josh Gottheimer has made preserving the U.S.-Israel alliance, and confronting antisemitism even when it comes from within his own political camp, central to his public mission.

That is why Josh Gottheimer is No. 30 on The 36.