Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Thursday morning!
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in response to Tropical Storm Ida, as severe weather, including flash floods, hit the city last night.
Soon after, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made a similar announcement for New York State.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and urged everyone in the area to stay home. At least eight people were killed in New Jersey and New York as a result of the storm, CNN reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh very soon, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to JI on Thursday. In contrast to previous such meetings between Israeli and Egyptian leaders, this one will be public.
Sisi is set to take part in a summit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordanian King Abdullah in Cairo today, for talks about a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg shared her pre-Rosh Hashanah thoughts on the “Behind the Bima” talk show hosted by Rabbis Efrem Goldberg, Philip Moskowitz and Josh Broide on Wednesday night.
“It’s a really special time,” Sandberg told the rabbis. “I definitely have a deep feeling when the New Year starts. We have a new opportunity. It’s kind of nice that it coincides with the school year roughly every year because it’s a new opportunity for, I hope, learning, growing, gratitude, appreciation and tzedakah.”
President Joe Biden will hold a virtual event this afternoon with rabbis ahead of the High Holidays.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog released a video greeting for Diaspora Jewry, wishing “a year of health and of coming together” to all.
“On this Rosh Hashanah, I will be praying for the well-being of my immediate family, as well as my extended family: the people of Israel and the Jewish People at large,” Herzog said in the message, recorded at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Bennett is scheduled to deliver a Rosh Hashanah address on Friday at 9:30 ET in a live virtual event hosted by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Swamp Switch
Loomer swaps Florida congressional districts

Political activist Laura Loomer stands across from the Women’s March 2019 in New York City on January 19, 2019 in New York City.
Laura Loomer, the far-right conspiracy theorist and anti-Muslim provocateur notoriously banned from most major social media platforms, announced on Wednesday that she is mounting a primary challenge against six-term Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) in central Florida. Until recently, Loomer, 28, had been poised for a rematch in Florida’s 21st Congressional District, where last cycle she ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), losing by 20 points despite a strong fundraising advantage. But Loomer switched districts this week to take on the 71-year-old Webster, setting up what is likely to be a heated generational showdown with a member of her own party, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
‘District-Shopper’: Loomer may be something of an awkward fit for the 11th district, which is the oldest in the country. While its boundaries could shift with a redrawn congressional map, the district currently stretches from Hernando County northwest to the vast retirement community known as the Villages. Loomer has yet to relocate, though she claims to have found a new residence in Lake County, west of Orlando, where she will be settling later this month. “I do not see how the Republicans there could support someone who moves from South Florida just to run in a primary,” said Steven Tauber, a professor of political science at the University of South Florida. “They will see her as a district-shopper.”
Criticism: Loomer received criticism after picking up endorsements from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), the controversial congressman whose connection with known white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes has recently drawn scrutiny. Loomer, however, dismissed such concerns. “I’ve gone to events with Nick Fuentes and Congressman Gosar before,” she told JI. “Look, I’m Jewish, and do I agree with everything Nick Fuentes has said?” she added. “No. Do I think his comments about the Holocaust in the past or some distasteful comments he’s made are, like I said, distasteful? Yes, absolutely. But just because I don’t agree with everything that he says, doesn’t mean that he should be banned, debanked or deplatformed.”
Follow the Money: In the interview with JI, Loomer railed against the social media platforms whose prohibitions against her she believes hindered her prospects in the last election, particularly as traditional campaigning was upended by the pandemic. Still, in her most recent campaign, Loomer managed to garner nearly $2.3 million with high-profile contributions from the likes of Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and former U.S. Ambassador Eric Javits. “I hope that I’ll receive contributions from everybody who donated last time as well, but we’ll see,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll also expand on my donor list given that I’m running in another district, and it’s more favorable this time, so perhaps people will find it to be a better investment donating to me this time to primary a do-nothing Republican.”