Martin Bright's blog



Delegitimisation: myths and reality

By Martin Bright, May 20, 2011

This is a short speech I gave to the We Believe in Israel conference on Sunday May 15th:

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Quilliam's Libyan Connection

By Martin Bright, March 12, 2011

Since writing a piece for this week’s Jewish Chronicle urging people to back the anti-extremist think tank Quilliam, I received some disturbing information warning me off. I believe this came from a source close to government. The claims made against Quilliam were serious and my support for the organisation needs to be examined in the light of what they said.

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Devon, a Tank Collection and a Grim Memento of the Camps

By Martin Bright, April 15, 2010

Deep in the North Devon countryside, just outside Barnstaple, you can find a very eccentric collection of military vehicles. The Cobbaton Combat Collection is one man's obsession: tanks and armoured vehicles from various wars, uniforms, weaponry. All very Boy's Own.
I visited last weekend out of curiosity and stumbled upon a corner of the collection dedicated to Holocaust memorabilia - respectfully done I hasten to add. There were some of the famous photographs of the liberation of Belsen, a yellow star, but the star exhibit was a hand-carved wooden head of a camp guard.

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Kaminski: The Saga Continues

By Martin Bright, November 22, 2009

I have been told that Michal Kaminski, the Tories' controversial Polish ally in the European parliament has given an interview to Polish television in which the following exchange about the Jedwabne massacre took place.

Journalist: "Perhaps you would not have been in trouble if you hadn't given some interviews? For example, you said to the Jewish Chronicle that Poland
could apologise for Jedwabne if the Jews apologize for collaboration with the Soviets."
Kaminski: "I never said that, these are not my words. But even if I had said it, it wouldn't have been anti-Semitic."

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BellaM and Melanie Phillips

By Martin Bright, November 16, 2009

Following our story on the spat between Ed Husain and Melanie Phillips, Cif Watch revealed that the moderator on the Guardian's Comment is Free website known as BellaM , is Alan Rusbridger's daughter, Isabella Mackie (Rusbridger's wife is the journalist Lindsay Mackie).

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Hillary Clinton and the Tories' new allies in Europe - Latest

By Martin Bright, October 16, 2009

The Guardian is the first paper to follow up the JC's story on US unease at the Tories' new alliance with right-wing parties in the European parliament. Senior political correspondent Allegra Stratton has confirmed that senior US officials raised their concerns when Hillary Clinton visited the UK last weekend.

The Tories's decision to yoke itself with Poland's Law and Justice party and Latvia's Fatherland and Freedom party looks more eccentric by the minute.

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Michal Kaminski: Statement on Chrobry Sword

By Martin Bright, October 9, 2009

In my interview with Michal Kaminski I asked him if he had ever said he was proud to wear the Chrobry Sword, the symbol of the National Radical Camp Falanga, a Catholic totalitarian group formed in 1935. He issued a categorical denial: “No, I never wear it. I don’t even know which symbol you are referring to.”

I agreed to send him further details. He responded yesterday evening, after the JC had gone to press:

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