Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for reported antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his time at school.
The political party leader has claimed he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."
An Unequivocal Demand
The letter asks direct questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The group of 11 survivors includes individuals with devastating personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This intervention comes after the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.
Since the initial report, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now state they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have also come forward with accounts of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."
"Those who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
