Feed aggregator

[Video below.] TalkTV presenter Alex Phillips confronted British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting in a heated exchange over the government’s handling of national security, immigration and terrorism following the arrest of five men in connection with a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
​
The confrontation came after five men were arrested near the military installation, which is used by the U.S. military. British counterterrorism authorities said Monday that the suspects are all British nationals in their 20s from London. Police are investigating whether individuals acting on behalf of a foreign state may have been involved, though authorities have not established a motive publicly.
​
Phillips focused much of her criticism on reports that a local farmer raised the alarm after encountering masked men and suspicious vehicles near the base. Streeting has since said British security authorities had prior awareness of the suspects, suggesting that the farmer had only a partial picture of the broader operation.
​
During an interview with The Express, Phillips pressed Streeting over what she portrayed as interconnected threats involving illegal immigration, terrorism, Islamist extremism and Russia.
​
“You’re the defence minister. What are you doing about the small boat crossings, the terror cells, Islamism, the threat from Russia?” she asked.
​
Phillips then challenged the British government over its policies toward Israel, questioning why London would take punitive measures against a country that provides intelligence assistance to Britain.
​
“Why is Israel sanctioned when they provide a lot of our intelligence reports for us?”
​
Phillips also accused the government of failing to heed warnings from intelligence officials and former senior security figures who have raised concerns about immigration and national security. “I would take a little guess here, Wes,” she said.
​
She then suggested that the suspects in the Fairford case may have entered Britain from abroad specifically to carry out an attack — an assertion that was contradicted by information subsequently released by British authorities identifying all five arrested men as British nationals from London.
​
“Let me teach you a thing or two, in case you don’t get it yet. I would imagine that whatever has happened near Fairford, the people who did it probably came into the country from elsewhere and came there specifically to do whatever they were planning to do. Perhaps, let me make it clear, you should join a dot, right?”
​
Phillips continued by attacking the government’s treatment of asylum seekers and its use of hotels and other facilities to accommodate migrants.
​
“They told you it themselves. And yet you’re still going, oh, yeah, aren’t they nice? They’re just asylum seekers. Give them a hotel. Let them stay on a military base. And don’t worry about that perimeter fence. We’ll open it wider.”
​
The five men were initially detained on suspicion of offenses under Britain’s Explosives Act and preparation of a terrorist act after police received a report concerning three suspicious vehicles traveling toward RAF Fairford early Sunday. Counterterrorism police said Monday that the investigation remained ongoing and had generated multiple new lines of inquiry.

Matzav.com regrets to inform you of the petirah of Rebbetzin Devorah Marcus a”h, wife of Hagaon Rav Mordechai Marcus zt”l, longtime rov of the Lakewood Minyan in Flatbush. Rebbetzin Marcus was niftar on Thursday, before Yom Tov.

For decades, Rebbetzin Marcus stood faithfully at the side of her illustrious husband, enabling him to devote his life to limud haTorah and harbotzas haTorah. Behind the extraordinary Torah accomplishments for which Rav Marcus was renowned was a devoted eishes chayil who built a home centered entirely around Torah and created the environment in which his remarkable aliyah and accomplishments could flourish.

Rav Marcus zt”l, who was niftar in 2020 at the age of 78, was regarded by those who knew him as one of the exceptional Torah minds of his time. He possessed an extraordinary command of Shas, Shulchan Aruch and poskim, combined with an analytical brilliance that made an impression on distinguished talmidei chachomim and rabbonim who learned with him and attended his shiurim. In his younger years, Rav Marcus learned at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yaakov Yosef, RJJ, where his unusual abilities were already evident. Even as a young ben Torah, his brilliance was recognized by his rabbeim, who respected the incisiveness with which he approached a sugya. He could identify a weakness in a sevara almost immediately and possessed an uncommon ability to penetrate to the heart of a difficult Torah discussion.

Over the years, Rav Marcus acquired a breathtaking breadth of yedios haTorah. His mastery extended across virtually every area of Shas and halacha, yet his knowledge was accompanied by the ability to analyze difficult questions with remarkable depth and clarity.

Despite what he knew and what he had accomplished, there was little outward indication that one was speaking with a man of such extraordinary stature. His middos, simplicity and respect for every person were as memorable to those around him as his brilliance in Torah.

Throughout that life of Torah, Rebbetzin Marcus was his steadfast partner.

She understood what her husband possessed and what his Torah could mean for others, and she devoted herself to allowing that Torah to grow unhindered. The demands of raising a large family and maintaining a home were carried with dedication and strength, while Rav Marcus was able to spend his days and years immersed in learning, teaching, writing and answering difficult shailos.

But Rebbetzin Marcus’s contribution was far greater than simply making room for her husband’s Torah. Together, Rav and Rebbetzin Marcus built a magnificent family. Torah was the center around which family life revolved, and the fruits of that partnership can be seen in the generations they raised.

Rebbetzin Marcus is survived by her children, all devoted bnei Torah and marbitzei Torah: R’ Shloimy Marcus, R’ Shaya Marcus, R’ Michoel Marcus, R’ Aharon Marcus, R’ Avrumi Marcus, R’ Moshe Marcus, R’ Aryeh Marcus, Mrs. Miriam Hendler and Mrs. Rochel Hamaoui, as well as numerous grandchildren.

The levayah was held Thursday night at the Congregation Sons of Israel Memorial Chapel on Ramsey Avenue in Lakewood.

Yehi zichrah boruch.

{Matzav.com}