The firebombing of a hostage-release march in Boulder, Colo., this summer triggered a wave of calls from lawmakers — particularly Republicans — for action to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.

Legislation to that effect was introduced in both the Senate and House in July, taking a new approach to designating the group as compared to previous legislative efforts that had stalled over the course of the last decade.

When Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visits the White House on Monday, he will be the first Syrian head of state to do so, a long-anticipated meeting that could advance U.S. efforts to broker a potential security agreement between Syria and Israel. 

The U.S. has worked on mediating a security deal between the two nations this year following the fall of the Iran-aligned Assad regime and Israel’s decisive military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon, something that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said made the talks “possible.” 

Hamas returned the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin on Sunday, over 11 years after he was killed in battle in Gaza.

Israel confirmed the body was Goldin’s through DNA testing, four hours after it was returned. 

Cornell University agreed to conduct “annual surveys to evaluate the campus climate for students, including the climate for students with shared Jewish ancestry” as part of an agreement it reached with the Trump administration on Friday. 

The settlement will restore more than $250 million in federal funding that was cut from the Ivy League school earlier this year, over allegations that it failed to address campus antisemitism. The annual surveys will “ask students whether they feel welcome at Cornell; whether they feel safe reporting antisemitism at Cornell; and whether they believe the changes Cornell has made since October 2023 have benefited the Cornell community.” 

Judge Amul Thapar, a member of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and a member of President Donald Trump’s short-list for a Supreme Court nomination in his first term, pushed back on accusations of genocide against Israel at a Federalist Society conference on antisemitism on Friday.

The conference, at which a series of judges from the high-profile conservative legal group offered forceful rejections of antisemitism, is particularly notable given the discussions over antisemitism roiling the conservative movement in the wake of Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ video last week defending Tucker Carlson and rejecting the cancellation of neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called on his Republican colleagues to speak out against Tucker Carlson, arguing in a fiery Friday morning speech that they need to rise above their fear of alienating the popular conservative podcaster to denounce his platforming of antisemitism.

“It’s easy right now to denounce Nick Fuentes. That’s kind of safe. Are you willing to say Tucker’s name?” Cruz said in a speech at the Washington National Lawyers Convention of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group. 

Former Minnesota Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, who turns 95 today, isn’t necessarily a household name — but is one of the more consequential figures in Jewish political history, as the first Holocaust refugee elected to Congress and one of the most prominent Jewish Republicans during a golden period of Jewish representation on Capitol Hill.

Boschwitz now holds the distinction of being the oldest living elected senator, and remains active in political and business life from his home in Plymouth, Minn. He spoke on the phone to Jewish Insider this week about his life story, legacy and thoughts about our current political moment.

Michael Blake, a former New York state assemblyman and eighth-place-finishing New York City mayoral candidate, announced a primary challenge to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Wednesday focused squarely on Torres’ support for Israel and ties to AIPAC.

But Blake himself has an extensive history with AIPAC and was, at least through 2020, a vocal supporter of the Jewish state.